Broken Wand, Broken Chains
by Squirrel of Shadow
Summary: When Harry is expelled and his wand snapped by the Wizengamot for defending himself against Dementors, Harry Potter finds himself wondering what else will they take unless he chooses to leave quickly. When more and more realizations reach the surface he begins to wonder if staying in the Wizarding World is even worth the pain. AU 5th year & beyond.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am merely playing with other people's creations, I don't own the game/book/anime/tv-show I am borrowing from, nor am I making any money with this. I am writing for fun and practice, as fan-fiction to be shared with others if I feel like it.

**Chapter 01: Former Wizard**

"In conclusion: Mr. Potter has deliberately, scandalously broken the statute of secrecy as well as the underage wizardry laws. Such reckless behaviour cannot be tolerated, and we need to send a strong message. So it is this court's decision that Mr. Potter's wand is to be snapped, and he will be expelled from Hogwarts immediately!"

Staring at the Minister of Magic in shock at what he was hearing, Harry wanted to protest but found himself unable to even speak. He had used his patronus to protect himself and his cousin from Dementors, but it seemed nobody believed him. They didn't even ask him anything but 'yes or no' questions, pointedly keeping him from saying anything but what they wanted.

The auror stepping up to present his wand to the Minister smirked coldly, while Fudge grinned gleefully. The audience leaned ahead to see the snapping of such a famous wand. It was entirely silent other than the sound of breaking wood, as Fudge bent the wand till it reached a breaking point, and snapped into two. He didn't stop there, but snapped each individual part into two more pieces, before handing the pieces back to the auror, who promptly vanished the remains.

"Justice has been served here today. Mr. Potter, this court has the authority to have your memories of the wizarding world obliviated and place you back amongst the muggles to protect the statute of secrecy. However, we are lenient, and are willing to grant you the status of a Squib in our society."

Harry stood still in shock, but feeling a poke from the auror, he quietly nod, lowering his head before hearing the crowd starting to leave. As the chair's bindings released him, the auror's hand pressed firmly on his shoulder and he began to guide Harry out of the courtroom ten. He wasn't sure what to think about it. First he was told he was late, and then they just threw him to the wolves. Dumbledore wasn't there, nobody was there for him.

Trembling within, Harry felt all the built up anger, sorrow and frustration bubbling at a boiling point. They had called him a delusional glory-seeking liar all summer, claiming his warnings of Voldemort's return were just attempts to acquire even more attention. His friends had not written to him, and Dumbledore hadn't protected him. Nobody cared, the aurors just came to arrest him at the scene of the underage magic he had performed, in self-defense, and threw him to the court-room already late.

As Harry was lead outside, Dumbledore and his companions arrived to the court-room ten to find the room entirely empty. As the headmaster paused and looked around, a chill of foreboding went down his spine as he turned to regard Remus Lupin and Arthur Weasley who had followed him into the room, speaking seriously. "This is bad. We have to find Harry soon, and try and get this travesty of justice reversed."

"I will look around in the Diagon Alley." Remus was moving to the door already, and Arthur nod his head while looking around concerned. "I will let Molly know and get the boys to help look for Harry. Professor, could he have been sent back to the Dursleys?"

"Alas, I do not know but I will find out soon. Please contact me as soon as you find out where Harry has gone." Dumbledore nod while watching Arthur leaving. Looking over at the empty seats and the interrogation chair, the old wizard shook his head sadly. "Cornelius Fudge, I hope you have not doomed us all already."

**#### #### #### ####**

After being escorted out to the Diagon Alley, Harry wasn't sure where to go at first but looking around, the answer came to him soon enough. Gringots. If they could take his wand away, they could soon try and take his money away as well. Fudge may have tried to gain some sympathy as being merciful by not throwing him back among the muggles, treating the boy-who-lived with at least some courtesy despite snapping his wand, but a few back room deals and they might decide it was safer to get rid of him more permanently.

So he had made his way to imposing structure, and walked in quietly to a teller who appeared to be free at the time. Looking up from the scroll that he was writing into, the goblin narrowed his gaze at Harry for a moment. Swallowing quietly, Harry hesitated to speak, especially as he remembered he had never gotten his vault key back from Molly when she last insisted on doing his shopping for him. Looking at the teller a bit uncertainly, he saw the goblin writing something on the scroll, and waited quietly and patiently for a moment, while trying to decide on how to approach the matter.

"Mr. Potter. What can I do for you?" The goblin finally raised his gaze to look at her, setting the quill down into a small cup next to the inkpot.

"Well sir, I was hoping to withdraw some gold from my vault, and I had a few questions about moving it out of the country." He hesitated while looking at the goblin seriously, waiting. He was hesitant to admit his plans like this but he had to get away from it all. He was no longer a wizard, his godfather was dead, and his friends had all abandoned him.

"Key, please," the goblin said while holding his hand out, watching as Harry swallowed nervously. "Well sir, I uh, I borrowed my key to Mrs. Weasley so she could do my school shopping for me last year and I never got it back. Can I get a new key by any means?"

The goblin stared at him stunned, before hopping off his chair and waving for him to follow along. Moving along a bit hesitantly, Harry made his way through the hallways, being lead through the tunnels till they reached a large door with the sign on it reading 'Senior Manager Goldtooth'. As the goblin knocked on the door there was a faint click within the door itself, before the goblin teller opened the doors and gestured for Harry to walk in.

Sitting behind a desk was a grey-haired old goblin man who had a book twice his own size opened on a large desk, the goblin's sharp golden eyes rising to gaze up at the two of them as Harry and the goblin teller stepped in. "Yes?"

"Senior Manager Goldtooth, this is Mr. Potter. He came to withdraw some gold as well as ask about moving his vaults out of the country, but he hasn't got his key. Worse, his trust vault's key has been in the possession of the Mrs. Weasley for the duration of his last school year already!"

Harry felt a bit confused about the look of horror on the account manager's face as the grey-haired goblin man suddenly cursed in a manner so foul it was lucky that Harry couldn't understand the goblin tongue, for the sheer vehemency of his tone said enough about just how outraged he was to learn this. Looking up at Harry, the goblin manager turned to glance back at the teller briefly.

"Thank you for bringing Mr. Potter here, Granrock. I will take care of this." As the other goblin turned to leave and closed the doors behind him, the older goblin man sighed heavily and then looked at Mr. Potter. "First off, a wizard or witch should never give his key to someone who isn't part of the family, and even within a family it is best that the family head keeps hold of the key. Now, I will make sure that your key is invalidated immediately and then we'll see about getting you a new key. Do you have the keys for your other vaults though?"

Harry blinked in confusion and cleared his throat while speaking a bit hesitantly after hearing the latest bit of news that everyone but he seemed to be aware of. "I am sorry but I have never had any other keys, I received my trust vault key from Hagrid when I was eleven."

The goblin manager seemed to be growling angrily before digging into the drawers of his desk, pulling out a form which he began to fill in a hurry, finally turning it around towards Harry and set a small needle down next to the pergament and the quill. "Sign on the line at the bottom, and prick your finger for a drop of blood onto the seal. This will confirm your identity. No polyjuice can fool this method, and the wound will heal immediately after you remove the needle. You will vanish the needle afterwards."

Harry signed his name on the document and pricked his finger as he was instructed to do, before digging into his pocket and pausing. "Uhm, I am afraid I don't have a wand anymore. The wizengamot just had it snapped." He feared this admission might prevent him from gaining access to his vaults but he didn't see a way to lie about it, saying he left his wand at home would just make him seem like an idiot and they might already know too.

"Very well, then please drop the needle into the trashcan besides you." The goblin waited till Harry had done so, before tapping the trashcan's side with his finger, causing it to flash, and all that remained at the bottom appeared to be ashes and sterilized metal needle. "Its not as secure but it will do." The goblin stated before checking the form over.

"Now, we have nullified all of your vault keys. The Potter Family Vault, your Trust Vault, and the Potter Business Vault are now being keyed to new keys that will be provided to you shortly. Now, the Family Vault and Business Vault are sealed until you reach your age of maturity, but you will be able to retrieve anything you wish from your Trust Vault. Now, you had questions about moving your vaults out of the country?"

"Yes sir, I no longer feel safe in the United Kingdoms, or at least the UK Wizarding World. I want to transfer my money away so the ministry cannot suddenly take it away. They have already taken away my wand, and expelled me from Hogwarts. I want to leave before they obliviate me and take my gold." There was a serious tone in his voice as he looked at Goldtooth. For a moment, the goblin seemed thoughtful, before he actually grinned.

"Now, normally I wouldn't be able to help you with moving those vaults out of the country when you haven't gained access to them yet, but seeing as you are the sole remaining member of the Potter family it might be possible. Your parents will has been sealed by order of the Wizengamot up until now, but we had been planning to attempt to contact you this year once you achieved your OWLs and would have been able to leave Hogwarts if you had so chosen. Given that your wand has now been snapped, you are no longer bound to wait till that requirement has passed."

Harry was caught by surprise, looking at Goldtooth a bit unsure what to say at first but then clearing his throat. "I didn't even know my parents had a will." By the look on the goblin's face he had said something very shocking, and though the senior manager got his expression under control very quickly, the shock had shown clearly for a moment, and his tone had a somewhat icy quality to it as he spoke again.

"Mr. Potter, you are the sole heir to one of our Most Ancient and Noble Houses, though traditionally the inheritage would pass to you even without a will, making certain there are no outside claims is just common sense. Your parents had a will, and they updated it shortly before they died as well, and you should have been explained at least the basics of this before you even reached Hogwarts. Frankly this is a terrible breach of etiquette, your magical guardian has been neglecting his duties most severely."

Harry looked at the goblin manager with a chill going through him as he thought about the implication that brought up, and then decided to speak his mind. He had a small feeling he knew where this was going, given how everything else seemed to fall apart as well already. "Who is my magical guardian, I thought my guardians were my muggle relatives, and Dumbledore keeps insisting I have to stay with them, and now you tell me I have a magical guardian? I didn't even know I was a wizard before I got my letter."

"Yes, every magical child has a magical guardian, and Albus Dumbledore has been yours since 1981."

**#### #### ####**

The floo at the Grimmauld place flashed green as Tonks stepped out looking around worried, and sighing as she saw Hermione and Ron rushing at her. "Did you find Harry?" Hermione asked immediately, with Ron mumbling something similar, but she wasn't entirely sure since he was eating a muffin while talking, spitting crumbs against her.

"Sorry, no luck here either?" She asked while brushing crumbs off her robes, glaring at Ron who took a step back a bit embarrassed look on his face after the glare. It didn't stop him from munching on the muffin though, just shaking his head as Hermione's shoulders sagged slightly. "No, nobody's caught any signs of Harry yet."

"I am not surprised Potter was stupid enough to ignore the laws, and I think he deserves to face some consequences for his actions." Snape's comment earned a glare from more than one person, but he simply sneered at them while leaning against the wall, waiting annoyedly for the Headmaster and the other missing members.

The floo flared again as Kingsley and Mr. Weasley stepped into the room. As Hermione and Ron turned to look at them, the two of them shook their heads looking around without even asking. The concerned, sad looks around the room told them enough.

Walking into the room with the star-patterned robe twinkling as his eyes did, Dumbledore nod his head to the gathered crowd, smiling slightly despite how tired the last hour had left him. "I have some good news. Though we haven't been able to talk to Mr. Potter yet, Remus was able to follow his scent to Gringots, and is there waiting for him to leave so we can bring him here safely."

There was a look of relief on both Hermione's and Tonks' face, but Snape sneered annoyedly as he shook his head at the news. "The spoiled little boy has gone to cry to the goblins after Wizengamot slapped some sense into him. I wouldn't be surprised if that arrogant little prince was planning to get his gold out of his vault and do a runner now that people have wised up on the fact he is a pathetic faker."

"Now now, Severus..." Dumbledore tried to ease the tension in the room before someone drew a wand on Snape, the man had an amazing way of infuriating people after all. "I am sure Mr. Potter merely wants to raise a little spending money to get over this temporary setback. I have the utmost confidence I can overturn the verdict, and though the loss of Mr. Potter's wand is a severe setback, he can always get a new one."

"I am so glad the boy has been found, I was afraid a death-eater might kidnap him after he left the court today." Molly admitted with obvious relief, smiling slightly before suddenly yelping as a pouch on her belt began smoking, and fell off the belt to puff out a cloud of noxious smoke, and pieces of broken metal crumbled in the remains of the pouch.

"Someone open a window!" Ron coughed and gagged at the smell, while Hermione hurried over to open one of the windows just as the painting of Mrs. Black began screeching in the hallway about the blood-traitors and mud-bloods. Arthur and Molly were coughing, caught up in the middle of the blast, while Severus cast a wary glance at Dumbledore's direction, noticing the frown on the old man's face as well.

"Well now, I will head out to keep Remus company while waiting for the dear boy. Please take care of preparing everything here so that when he comes you can offer your full support, I imagine this has been a dreadful day to the lad and he needs every bit of support from his friends and family." Dumbledore smiled in a warm fashion before hurrying out again.

_'That had to be Harry's vault key. Of course, if he wants to get gold from Gringots he needs his key, he must have asked for a new one. The boy must not have known asking for a new key causes the old one to be broken, but that also means he might be about to leave soon. I have to get him to Grimmauld fast, if we can find him, so can Voldemort. A few days at Grimmauld before we return him to the Dursleys should help ease his mood while I start the fight to reverse Fudge's blunder.'_

**#### #### ####**

Flying over London, Hedwig was pissed off. First the giraffe-neck and walrus began to throw her boy's things on the yard, and then when they pulled her cage open they shook it like a chicken coop to toss her out of it, and even tried to kick at her. The nerve of those people! They had even set those things on fire right on the spot, too angry to care about what their neighbors might say, at least first. The giraffe-neck would somehow blame it all on Hedwig's Harry though.

Her Harry was in trouble, the little whale had come back deathly pale and cold, just the way she had seen those ghosts in rags affect people before. Nobody really cared about the little whale, but his condition along with her Harry being missing and the way the giraffe neck and walrus had been screeching while throwing out Hedwig's boy's things on the curb suggested that her Harry was in right in the middle of things again.

The long-whiskers dared to send her to the land-of-no-bacon year after year, and endanger her Harry. She was going to make sure the long-whiskers would regret it, though she had decided to arrange her revenge on the Dursleys first. A few quick words to nearby avians had informed everyone of the new favorite target for the sport of bombardment in a few mile radius, and after learning of what had taken place they had all agreed. The Dursley car would not stay clean for even an hour's length that year, no matter how the fat walrus might rage.

Flying over London, Hedwig let her senses guide her towards her boy. She was getting closer, but her senses told her she couldn't reach him right now. The boy was behind some heavy wards, and though Hedwig could fly there she wouldn't get far without a letter to deliver. So she had decided to wait and see when Harry would be out in the open for her to return to her boy.

Of course, once she spotted the unmistakeable figure of long-whiskers appearing on the wizard's alley she glided down towards him before correcting her flight path, and sending her protest for forcing Harry and her into the land-of-no-bacon again through the air, right on the course. The splat and falling hat showed her she had hit her garget, leading to a victory hoot before she continued her glide over the rooftops and out of sight.

**#### #### #### ####**

"Now that you have your Keys, you should keep them on your person. While you cannot access your Family Vault or Business Vault yet, those keys belong to you and nobody has any right to demand you to part with them. The chain they are on has a mild notice-me-not spell upon it, but it will only provide protection from casual inspection. Since it is keyed to you, the notice-me-not wont make it hard for you to find your keys, and it will not affect the tellers, though I would still recommend removing a key from the chain when you present it to the teller."

Harry nodded his head gratefully while he slipped the key-chain around his neck and dropped it under his shirt. The weight of the keys was oddly comforting, they were lighter than their size would have suggested, but he had accepted it as yet another peculiarity of magical objects without even asking anymore. Hearing the answer 'its magic' had been amusing at first but quickly turned into a lazy way to dodge the question.

"Your parents will be read two days from now, as the main beneficiary you are required to attend, but the others listed in the will are expected there as well, and we need a bit of time to arrange for this meeting. In the meanwhile, you are a guest of the Goblin Nation, and we assure you that your status is untouchable here. Once the will has been opened and read, we can start the work on unsealing the other vaults."

Harry bowed his head respectfully while considering all the shocks he had gone through that day. Finding out his parents had a will, having his wand snapped, being expelled, it was frightening how much things were already changing. The one good thing to come out of this mess so far was that he would not go back to the Dursleys. Until the will was read, he would stay with Gringots, and as he was no longer expected to graduate from Hogwarts, he was a free man to pursue whatever goals he set for himself in life. That came with the unsealing of his family and business vaults, which would let him transfer them out of the country, to another branch of Gringots.

With Voldemort back, he wasn't quite sure if he would travel far away to put distance between himself and the dark wanker, not to mention his former head master who he had began to suspect held less than stellar intensions for Harry and his family fortune. The fact the headmaster had repeatedly tried to access the family estate and business vault, only to be rebuffed by the goblins, made him trust the goblins far more than he trusted the old man now.

"Alright, umm who all are expected to attend then?" Harry looked at Goldtooth a little uncertainly. He was rather sure that Dumbledore would be there and try and get him to listen to what he had to say, and Harry wasn't ready to talk with Dumbledore yet. Not after the old man had thrown him back to the Dursleys after what happened to Cedric, not after finding out about his vaults and the sealed will, not after learning he should have known all of this a long time ago already.

"The will came along with a list of names, some of whom are unavailable, but we expect Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Amelia Bones, Remus Lupin, and Augusta Longbottom. Others who are named but not available are Frank and Alice Longbottom, both of whom are in St. Mungos, and Sirius Black who is being sought after by the Ministry."

Harry didn't know what to think about the list of people. He really didn't want to see Albus Dumbledore for a while still, and while McGonagall was generally a fair but strict teacher she put more faith in Dumbledore's words than Harry's own, and Amelia Bones was one of the people presiding over his trial at the Wizengamot earlier. He would be glad to see Remus again, but the old man had an influence over the man which might make things far more complicated, and Augusta Longbottom was a scary woman if Neville's stories weren't exaggerated.

"Alright, but I don't want to talk with any of the others right now, and I would appreciate it if you could ensure that none of them can remove me from Gringots after the will reading." Harry didn't want to go along with any of them, he silently wished Sirius was there to help him but seeing as Dumbledore had done nothing to help Sirius get a trial, Harry could only assume Sirius was laying low for now.

Amelia Bones had at least voted against finding him guilty to all charges, she had raised question about nobody being there to represent Harry's interests, earning some respect from him, but she had been silenced by Fudge and the woman in the pink cardigan. He didn't find her personally responsible for the snapping of his wand, but he wanted nothing to do with the ministry anymore. All he wanted was to get out of the abusive world that refused to believe him. When he left the Dursleys, he was blinded by how wonderful magic was and didn't pay attention to just how horrible the wizarding world could be. How could he, having spent most of his time locked up in Hogwarts under Dumbledore's watchful eyes.

"Of course, and given you are untouchable they can insist all they wish but only you will have the power to say how and with whom if anyone you shall take your leave after the will has been read. I imagine we could arrange for a handful of portkeys and a small room where the usual wards would be temporarily suppressed to allow you to exit without being seen." The grin on the goblin manager's face was full of amusement, he was enjoying the bit of plotting just s much as Harry was. Obviously they weren't happy with the way his will had remained in stasis for so long, his estate held in trust longer than they had anticipated.

**#### #### ####**

_**Boy-who-Lost**_

_By Rita Skeeter_

_Harry James Potter, formerly known as Boy-Who-Lived, was tried before the Wizengamot today on the charges of recklessly endangering the statute of secrecy as well as blatantly breaking the law by committing underage magic in front of muggle witnesses. The ministry personnel responding to the scene was quick to act, detaining the boy for questioning and trial._

"_It is a travesty when a young man is willing to spread such slanderous lies about many upstanding citizens and then commit criminal acts like his latest blunder in front of witnesses no less. The boy's claim of having defended himself and his cousin from Dementors was quickly discounted as yet another lie as the boy was using the fact only muggles and him were there to witness the spellcasting, clearly hoping that such a juvenile lie would explain why he thought he had the right to use a highly visible spell in a muggle neighborhood. Frankly, I believe Minister Fudge is too kind for only having the boy's wand snapped, I would have insisted on having his magic bound as well," Madame Umbridge was willing to explain._

_Has our gloryhound prince of Gryffindor decided that winning the Triwizard Championship wasn't enough? Has he decided that murdering a classmate and then blaming it away on alleged return of You-Know-Who wasn't getting him enough attention? Has this been yet another temper tantrum by a dangerous, greedy child who doesn't understand the serious consequences of his acts? This reporter applauds the Wizengamot for taking a hard stance on this, and putting an end to this downward spiral before it could hurt the wizarding world more._

_Since Harry Potter was expelled and his wand snapped, this reporter would have assumed he would also be obliviated and have his magic bound, but in memory of his part in the downfall of You-Know-Who he was allowed to remain in our society, though being considered nothing more than a squib. _

_How did our boy hero turn out so wrong? I would ask that the readers see what company he kept: A senile old headmaster trying to do three highly stressful jobs at once and known to already being eccentric, if not even insane, and a shameless gold-digger as witnessed by her acts of trying to ensnare both the Boy-who-Lived and the teen heartbeat Victor Krum, a former classmate of Harry Potter by the name Hermione Granger. _

_Our hero's greed for fame and desire for attention has finally done what You-Know-Who could not, it has ruined Harry Potter, and his parents must be terrible ashamed of the boy when he eventually joins them in death. The newly Squibbed hero was not around to comment._

Molly Weasley stared at the Daily Prophet in shock and trembled while reading through the paper. The ministry had been bashing Harry Potter all summer, and now they had dragged the boy through the mud to a point where they had actually been able to commit such a horrible act on a child. She was outraged on how they commented about the Headmaster, but learning about Hermione made her huff, she would have to remind that girl how a proper lady behaves, this was most unbecoming of news, juggling two boys like that was highly immoral, and besides her own son, Ron, was sweet on the girl after the tri-wizard tournament and having her chasing other men would not do.

Thank Merlin she had gotten her hands on the paper first. Sirius was still sulking in his room that they hadn't allowed him to head out to find Harry, and Dumbledore felt it was best to let Sirius deal with this on his own terms. The Order might operate out of Grimmauld Place, but Sirius himself was not in any shape to be roaming about and the last thing Harry needed was for his godfather to get caught too.

Nobody had seen Harry since he had been tried and went to visit Gringots yesterday, and Remus had sworn he had not seen Harry exit but the goblins insisted they did not have any underage wizards visiting the vaults or the managers office anymore. Somehow, the boy had slipped away. The thought of the poor boy alone without even a wand to defend himself with was scary enough, but having lost Harry's key like that had really given Molly a scare too. She had intended to get Harry his books to study and practice the theory at least while the headmaster would have worked on getting the sentence overturned.

**End Chapter**

A/N: Mostly wanted to try and put together a relatively short story about Harry deciding to leave after having his wand snapped. I have a basic outline in mind, for a roughly 5 chapter story unless I decide to expand on the original idea.

I have other writing attempts going on as well, but felt a shorter story concept would help me work out what I want from the longer stories as well.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I am merely playing with other people's creations, I don't own the game/book/anime/tv-show I am borrowing from, nor am I making any money with this. I am writing for fun and practice, as fan-fiction to be shared with others if I feel like it.

**Chapter 02: Will to Remember**

Two days had passed since the trial, and Dumbledore was finding his former allies reluctant to lend a hand to aid him. The claim that Voldemort was back had made many of them question his sanity, and seeing what happened to the Potter boy didn't inspire any of them to trust the old man. Despite his best efforts, Dumbledore wasn't able to gather much support to the idea of overturning the verdict at that trial.

Walking towards the Gringots he felt another headache coming. The letter had invited not only him but Minerva as well, and he knew there would be others. He would have to be quick and put a stop to the will-reading, if the Potter Will was unsealed it could spell a disaster to his efforts. There was a very good reason he had used his influence to get that will sealed, and he did not want to see it read. The only good thing about the mess was that as the primary beneficiary, Harry would have to attend.

As he walked into the bank he found to his disappointment he had been right about his earlier guess. Madame Bones was already present and discussing things cordially with Madame Longbottom. Both of them powerful women that didn't appreciate his wisdom, and with Minerva standing behind him Albus was not happy with the crowd present.

Seeing Remus and the large black hound besides him not too far away had Dumbledore's earlier headache begin to grow into a migraine. This was not good. Amelia Bones in the same room with an illegal animagus that was also an escaped convict was a recipe for disaster, and Sirius Black was a prankster that couldn't keep his mouth shut even when doing so would have been in his best interests. Remus must have told him, there was no way the goblins could contact him, but if Remus was mentioned then Sirius probably was as well.

"Ahh, Amelia, Augusta, what a pleasant surprise to see the two of you. I am also glad to see you are doing well Mr. Lupin, but are you sure its wise to bring a pet to this meeting?" Albus hoped that Remus would catch the hint at his disapproving look, a brief disappointed look cast at Sirius direction as well. The glare he got in return didn't ease his mind, Sirius was here for Harry and not for him. Albus Dumbledore had a feeling the day was not going to turn out well.

"Albus, Padfoot would have gone crazy and made a mess back home if I didn't take him along, and the goblins have already given a permission for him. They know that he wont attack anyone unless they try and attack him first." Remus' gaze had a little bit of a guilty look in it, but he stood firm about the decision, and arguing about it before Amelia and Augusta would have looked bad.

"Very well, we'll talk about it later. Now Amelia, Augusta, I am glad to see you could free some time from your busy schedule but I am afraid the goblins have been a little hasty. As Mr. Potter's magical guardian and again as the chief warlock of the Wizengamot I am going to have to insist the will remains sealed for a few more years. I am sure Harry would agree with me that the last thing he needs is added responsibilities on top of everything that has already taken place."

"I am afraid you are mistaken," a voice rose from a nearby goblin walking up closer to them and casting a look at the people that had gathered there in the bank to wait for a guide to the proper room. "Though you may have held the title before, it has come to our attention you have been a neglectful guardian. Mr. Potter was not aware of his heritage, nor of the power his family held in Wizengamot, or the family fortune sealed in the vaults. He has not been taught any of the expected skills for a proper heir, and that reflects rather poorly upon you. As Mr. Potter was tried in front of the whole wizengamot, the Wizarding World has declared him an adult in the eyes of law, before laying down the punishment of declaring him a squib. Thus he no longer requires or wants a magical guardian."

**#### #### #### ####**

Harry Potter was already seated in a plush armchair set aside from the others in the meeting room when the rest of the group finally arrived to the room. He refused to look into their direction beyond a brief glance, not trusting Dumbledore's twinkling eyes after the things he had learned recently. He wasn't quite sure but the way that Dumbledore always seemed to know what was on a person's mind had caused some wary comments from the goblins before, enough for him to be entirely unwilling to meet that man's gaze.

"Ahh, Harry, you gave us quite a scare by vanishing that way. Now I need you to understand-" Albus had barely started talking when a goblin warrior stepped ahead pointing a spear at his neck and stepping in between the old wizard and the client who had requested protection. The old man's eyes widened as he took a step back at the threatening gesture, but when the goblin didn't pursue it any further he frowned.

"Harry-" He tried again, only to be interrupted by a cold tone of voice from the boy in reply. "That is Mr. Potter to you, sir, we are not on friendly terms. Sit down and let the proceedings start." This worried Dumbledore, the boy should respect him and be relieved to see him. A little teenage stubbornness was not unexpected but the way he was brushed off was worrying. Perhaps he'd have to put a tighter leash on the boy, just in case. He couldn't let the boy go dark from being bitter, after all.

"Mr. Potter, you know your parents wouldn't want you to place yourself at additional risk. Their will was written during a war, but it was expected that you would read it in time of peace, but we both know there is little hope for that now. So I need you to ask the goblins to put the will back in stasis-"

"No." Harry replied bluntly and coldly, before nodding his head at the sight of Senior Manager Goldtooth stepping in with the will under his arm. Albus grimaced at seeing this, and though he wanted to approach Harry it was obvious the goblin guards were eyeing him warily. Taking a seat he frowned while watching the goblin manager clear his throat and rest his hand on the seal on the will.

"We are gathered here today for the reading of the Potter Will, written by James and Lily Potter during August of 1981. This will was previously ordered sealed by the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Magical Guardian of the child in question, Harry James Potter. This will was held in stasis for the safety of the child in question, after the necessary paperwork was provided. It was agreed upon that the child in question, Harry James Potter, would be informed of the will and provided an opportunity to peruse the contents of the will on his eleventh birthday. He never came to inquire about the will, merely to withdraw money for his school expenses. This unsealing is already long overdue, and you are all called here today as witnesses as well as beneficiaries or proxies there-of."

"I invoke my right as the Head of the Wizengamot to seal this will until Mr. Potter is of age. The danger he has been living with is not over, and the information on the will would undermine the efforts to protect him-" Speaking in a serious fashion, Albus sought to put a stop to this before it could get out of hand. The sound of a small wooden hammer hitting the table left him silenced however.

"You have no such power, and Wizengamot has degreed Mr. Potter is of age, first by having him partake in a ministry sponsored event known as Tri-Wizard tournament that was marked as an event only adults could take part in. Second, he has been tried before the whole Wizengamot which is, again, only legal with an adult witch or wizard. Seeing as the Ministry and Wizengamot have recognised Mr. Potter as an adult, and he no longer has to pass his OWLs or NEWTs to acquire his status as an adult, the power to unseal or seal the will remains solely in his hands, and he has called for this will to be read. You will remain silenced until after the proceedings, or be escorted out."

Gritting his teeth together, Albus quietly sat down though not without noticing he was getting his share of wary looks from the older women around him. Damn the boy, he was proving troublesome. Albus couldn't let the will be read, but at the same time he couldn't see a way to block it without incinerating the scroll and that would be foolish, the goblins would remove his head if he tried. That didn't stop him from wanting to do so though.

"_This is the last will and testament of James and Lily Potter, done in sound state of body and mind. This will invalidates any prior wills, and was written in the event neither of us were to survive in this war. _

_Harry, your mom and I love you very much and wish we could have stayed with you. We joined the war to protect the innocent from a very evil man, and wanted to create a better world for you to grow up in. Never doubt that we loved you, everything we have done was for you. We are sorry we are not there with you, but we are certain your Godfather, Sirius Black, and your Godmother, Alice Longbottom, have made sure that you grow up a healthy and bright lad ready to help guide the world to a better state._

_We went to hiding on the insistence of Albus Dumbledore because of a Prophecy that was made about the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord. At that time, this prophecy pointed towards either you, or your godmother's son, Neville Longbottom. Voldemort began to target both our families after learning of this, and we reluctantly left the Potter Manor which, despite its heavy wards, was a known location and a likely target for a massive attack that could have ruined both the manor and trapped us and you there just waiting to die once the ward failed. So we took Albus' advice to hide under a Fidelius charmed house in Godric's Hollow._

_We let everyone believe we made your godfather, Sirius Black, into our secret keeper when in truth it was a diversion to draw attention away from the real secret-keeper, Peter Pettigrew. Albus Dumbledore recommended this additional diversion for the sake of protecting us better. If you are hearing this will, either poor Peter was caught and the truth was tortured out of him, or we were caught on those rare times we would exit the house to conduct family affairs that could not be entrusted to others._

_We would give anything to be with you, but we knew the risks when we took part in a war. We only hope you have grown up happy and loved in a world changed for the better by the sacrifices we have had to make._

_Now, on to the bequeths._

_To Sirius Black, Harry's godfather and magical guardian, we leave a sum of 1,000,000 galleons and the marauder journal from my Family vault. You were a loyal brother and a brave man, and we are sure you will teach Harry everything he needs to know about the Potter Family. We are sorry we left before you, but we will wait you on the other side. Marauders never die._

_To Remus Lupin, we leave you a sum of 500,000 galleons to improve your lot in life. There's no giving it back, we want you to prosper and put that brilliant mind of yours to work. You never let a problem defeat you and though we are sorry we are not there for you, we hope that you will remembers us fondly and aid Sirius in raising Harry. We also leave you with the house in Devonshire, and encourage you to find a lady to share the house with. _

_To Edgar and Amelia Bones, we leave you with the pensieve in our Family Vault along with the vials of our saved memories of the many death-eaters we unmasked during the struggles of the war, as well as of Voldemort himself. We hope these will aid in not only identifying but convicting those criminals that would otherwise try and escape justice. We know your devotion to fairness and feel confident our trust is well placed. In addition to this, we leave you with a total of 200,000 galleons and a request that you will take in Harry should anything happen to the others._

_Frank and Alice Longbottom, when that terrible prophecy was made that drove Voldemort to seek for both of our families, we knew that there was a chance either of our families might not make it out alive through these dangerous times. We leave you with access to the Potter Manor, and name you as our Proxy for the Wizengamot until the time that our son Harry is of age. We also leave a sum of 500,000 galleons to help with the repairs after the war, we know your family might not need it but consider it our gift and a token of our appreciation for your loyalty through the hard times we have endured together._

_To Minerva McGonagall, you were always my favorite teacher and had a wicked sense of humor despite that serious air you put up. Hah, made you smirk just the tiniest bit I bet. Well in all fairness I hope you will be able to teach Harry even half of the love of Transfiguration that I had, and while I'll love my son no matter what house he ends up in when he comes to Hogwarts, I hope you will watch after him. I leave to you my collection of advanced research notes in Transfiguration, a sum of 200,000 galleons, and our holiday house in Edinburgh._

_We leave all the rest of our earthly belongings to our son, Harry James Potter, with access to his trust vault granted on his 11th birthday to pay for his schooling, limited access to the family vault after acquiring his OWLs, and unlimited access to both family and business vaults after achieving his NEWTs and coming of age. Achieving his OWLs and NEWTs are by no means a requirement we hold for him receiving his inheritance, but we expect you to study hard and learn all you can, make us proud Harry._

_If Sirius Black has been killed in the war before the reading of this will, we leave Harry's placement to the next people on the list._

_Alice & Frank Longbottom_

_Remus Lupin_

_Edgar & Amelia Bones_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_If the unthinkable has happened and all these good people are dead, we ask that Harry is placed in a light-aligned wizarding family with no known sympathies towards the Dark Lord's cause. Under no circumstances is Harry to go to Lily's relatives, the Dursleys. They are known to hate magic and even attempted to **kill** Lily Potter nee Evans during the summer of her 6th year._

_Signed and verified by_

_James Potter_

_Lily Potter nee Evans_

_Witnessed by_

_Albus Dumbledore."_

There was a stunned silence in the room for a moment as the news came out. Sirius Black being innocent, the prophecy about the fall of the dark lord, and Albus Dumbledore's name as a witness rather than as the named guardian. Amelia looked thoughtful on the mention of the pensieve and memories, where as Augusta Longbottom was openly dapping a hankerchief in the corner of her eyes to wipe out the tears of the thoughts about Neville's parents.

"Given that Harry has been recognised as an adult and no longer has a wand to achieve OWLs and NEWTs with, we at Gringots have interpreted this as a valid reason to unseal the Potter vaults for Mr. Potter. We shall move the bequeths to your personal vaults before the end of the day. Thank you for attending, this meeting is over."

As the hammer hit the table again Harry rose to his feet to walk towards the door in the back only to be interrupted by the headmaster's hand on his shoulder. "Harry, I am most disappointed in you. Come along, we'll see if we can clear this mess-"

With a quick slap Harry brushed the old man's hand off his shoulder and continued on his way, just as Albus and Amelia called after him, as did Moony and Padfoot. The barking was the one thing that made Harry want to stop for a moment and listen, but he didn't want to be anywhere near the old man right now. It was time to go.

As Albus tried to follow Harry into the tunnels beyond the other door, a pair of goblin spears were crossed before his face, the goblin guards refusing to let him or any of his companions pass. As the large hound seemed to be eyeing the space open between the spears closer to the floor the door swung back to close and the sound of lock turning was evident to all of those people in the room.

**#### #### #### ####**

"The preparations are complete, I have your portkey ready and waiting, and the letter you have written will be sent after you activate the portkey." Goldtooth smirked slightly while holding up the metal rod with Harry's name on it. Nodding and taking up the rod before casting a look at Goldtooth, Harry bowed his head slightly to the goblin.

"Thank you for everything you have done for me. You have certainly earned the full bonus and a little extra." Smiling before squeezing on the portkey, Harry drew a deep breath and whispered. "_Freedom._"

With a yanking sensation behind his navel, the boy who lived was gone, no longer in Britain, and no longer within Dumbledore's reach. His vaults may have been unsealed, but before the news would reach the ministry they would already be out of the country. While Goldtooth didn't like losing control over that large fortune he had received a large bonus for taking care of the transfer, and all the other preparations that his client had requested, and combined with the potential for more profit to be made later, it had been enough to sway him to help the young man more than he normally might have.

**#### #### #### ####**

Amelia Bones gasped and panted shakily after lifting her head up from the pensieve she had been checking, the memory was as sharp as the day it had been stored, the protection runes in the glass tubes making sure the evidence would not be blurred by age or become lost. There it was, the undeniable proof that you cannot take the Dark Mark unless you are willing, and further more that the imperius defense was a load of horse manure.

Unfortunately the Minister Fudge had signed so many pardons that even with the new evidence it was too late to nail many of those bastards, but she identified many people previously hidden, and now that she had the proof she needed she could start with the preparations. Mad-Eye Moody had sought to declare martial law during Voldemort's first reign of terror, with the evidence here she could push for it, and if anyone but Fudge sat on the minister's seat it would happen.

Soon the Deatheaters would be the one running, when Aurors had received a blanket permission to use any spells necessary to take down the terrorist threat. There would be no stunners, there would be no mercy, the Deatheaters would be considered little more than child-raping racist scum trying to pretend to be better than everyone. Lily had the right idea. Dead death-eaters dont buy their pardon and return, and if you just burnt the deatheaters to ashes after confirming their identity, you could claim you did not know who was behind the mask but they perished in flames during the fight. It was little more than vigilante justice, but Amelia knew that Bloody Lily had it right, and the only way they would survive would be to cut the cancer amongst them out of the body before it killed every last one of them.

**#### #### #### ####**

"I can't believe it Remus! Dumbledore could have opened that will at any time and proven I am innocent, and it even says Harry must not go to the Dursleys! Bloody Hell, this is confusing, but I don't think I can follow that man anymore. Remus, you and I are all that is left of the Marauders, and I need you by my side to teach Harry about his parents. Its about time I take up my responsibilities, I can't fail our cub anymore."

Sirius' proclamation was met with a heavy sigh from Remus. The thoughtful man had idolized Dumbledore for all he had done for Remus in the past, protecting him when he was a student and again when he was a professor at Hogwarts, giving him opportunities no other werewolf would have. He wanted to believe in Dumbledore but the evidence was rather damning, and insisting on just wanting to keep Harry safe was not enough to overlook the many failings of Albus Dumbledore.

"I am shocked about the things I have learned here today but I cannot explain it any other way. I think Lily would be mad as hell to see us now. You're right Sirius, we have to find our cub and make sure he is safe. No matter what Dumbledore says, the Dursleys are not safe, and I get a feeling they never were. Even Dumbledore must have known that, he was a witness to their will after all. I never knew that they actually tried to kill Lily."

Sirius shook his head and frowned. "I just know James was pissed off as hell that summer, and that Lily came to live with him for a short period of time. I think it might have been what drove Severus to calling her a mudblood, thinking that they were sleeping with one another." He frowned slightly at the thought of that, though Remus nod his head slightly in turn. "He was always trying to perv on her underwear." Sirius smirked slightly at that. "Now as for Miss Bones though, there's a woman who's bra I wouldn't have minded stealing. Good thing I didn't though, I believe she might be the only one that would arrange poor old Padfoot a chance in court after this, I doubt anyone that didn't attend will still listen to a word that is said about my innocence."

"Perhaps we should do what James and Lily did. Pensieve memories." Remus' smirk was met by a similar one on Sirius' face. Lily had the right idea, and the two of them could add to the mess the ministry would soon have in its hands by throwing more eggs at the politicians faces in the way of revealing more evidence of their failings.

**#### #### #### ####**

As Albus Dumbledore walked out of the floo at the Grimmauld place he looked around for any signs of Remus and Sirius, but seeing neither turned his attention to the two children rushing over to him. Ron and Hermione had been at the Grimmauld place for a while, both to protect them from the possibility of Voldemort trying to get to Harry through them, and to make sure they obeyed his orders to not owl to Harry during the summer.

"Headmaster, did you find Harry?" Hermione's worried expression was so genuine that it warmed Albus Dumbledore's heart to know the young witch cared so much about her friend. If only things weren't as bad as they had turned out to be. Harry must be going Dark, he told himself sadly. Nothing else would explain the way the boy just brushed him aside. Amelia and Augusta had left quickly, and Minerva had threatened to turn him deaf with a rather verbal smackdown of "told you those people were the worst sort of muggles" that hadn't helped him.

"Yes, I was able to see Harry at the will-reading. Unfortunately miss Granger, Harry was not happy to see me. I believe he is upset that I wasn't there to protect him at his trial. I hoped to explain they had changed the time and place of the trial without informing me, causing me the delay that lead to this horrible situation, but he wasn't keen on listening to me right now. Perhaps he would sooner listen to your words of wisdom, as he has seemed to rely on your knowledge in the past when he hasn't known what he should do. I imagine sending him a letter now would be less risky than allowing him to isolate himself and brood would be."

"So Harry's not coming here?" Ron asked, earning a silent sigh from the headmaster. Ron was a member of the Weasley family who were utterly loyal to him, but sometimes the boy's brain seemed to have trouble grasping even the simplest ideas. Albus didn't mind dealing with dumb people from time to time, they were perfect puppets to set up in the ministry after all, but sometimes people like Ron yanked on his nerve and gave him a headache.

"No Mr. Weasley, I am afraid he walked out on me. I trust Remus and Sirius are looking for him right now and hope we shall hear more about him soon."

There was a flare of green flames in the floo again as Severus walked into the room, looking shaken up and clutching his arm in pain, making his way to an armchair to slump down in, gesturing at a bottle of whiskey on a top-shelf nearby to uncork and take a quick gulp of, flames flowing over his lips afterwards. Albus wanted to reprimand the man for drinking before children, but he obviously needed some pain-killers and the potions might make him too sleepy to report.

"Severus, has something happened?" He asked in his grandfatherly manner, looking at his spy with concern. This day was turning out to be the sort when it didn't pay to get out of bed.

"The Dark Lord isn't happy, and he expressed himself by throwing crucios around like a madman. He was perfectly happy laying low and recruiting before announcing his return before he read the news about the Potter-brat. I thought he would be happy, but he started to rant and rave about it. Apparently he wants a rematch with Potter after the incident in the grave-yard, and took the news of the boy being expelled as a personal insult. He's like a child who got denied his candy."

The tremor running through the man was obvious as his shaky hand tilted his glass back again, and he sipped on the fire-whiskey slowly to ease his discomfort. "He is accelerating some of his plans, and plans to retrieve his most loyal followers soon."

"Azkaban. The Dark Lord is going to Azkaban."

Severus could only nod to Dumbledore in reply, earning a thoughtful look from the old man. Knowing where the dark lord planned to strike would work in his favor, but it came at a bad time. He needed Harry at Grimmauld place or at the Dursleys, and he couldn't be chasing after Harry and watching out for Voldemort at the same time.

"Did he mention when he planned to attack?"

"No, but I doubt it will happen before August, he hasn't got enough death-eaters at his side yet, and has been preparing to meet with some possible allies later in July. I imagine he wants to be ready before making his move."

Albus nod his head grimly. Things were gearing up for a new war, and losing Harry was a tremendous blow to his plans. Harry wasn't allowed to go dark, seeing Cedric's murder and then being treated like this, Harry wasn't probably feeling too generous towards the wizarding public right now, and Voldemort would take advantage of any chinks in the boy's armor. Perhaps he should get Snape to teach the boy some occlumency this year. Yes, that definitely sounded like a plan worth thinking about.

"Go rest, Severus, you need your strength later. Thank you for bringing me these news my boy."

Snape sneered but slowly got up, nodding his head. "Of course, headmaster." Without a word more, he left the room to get some rest. He was too tired to floo back to Hogwarts and walk to his quarters, when there was a guest room available in this house. Even if Black owned it, his aunt mocked Sirius enough to amuse Snape and make him feel more at home.

Hermione and Ron had left the room around the time Severus had slumped on the seat, not wanting to deal with the potions professor and his hateful attitude towards the Gryffindors. The fact that Molly was in the next room yelling for some help cleaning up the library at the time didn't really matter too much. She had removed several dark or borderline dark tomes from the shelf and packed them up to be removed, only to find them back in the shelf a while later. Frustrated, she had even tried vanishing a few books only to find them protected by magic.

Without anyone seeing, a silently cursing house elf mumbled about blood traitors and mudblood polluting his mistress' home, and returning anything taken from the shelves to their rightful place, as well as making sure whenever the thief, Fletcher visited he left with his pockets empty of the House Black goods he kept trying to stuff them with. Kreacher wasn't going to allow these trespassers to do as they pleased with the house.

The traitor-son who ran away breaking the mistress' heart might have opened the place to these riff-raff but Kreacher refused to cook for them, clean for them, or even tolerate them in the more sensitive rooms of the house, but he wasn't going to murder them in their sleep. Not yet.

**End Chapter**

A/N: Alright, first off I know Amelia Bones isn't as old as I make her out to be in this, but given the long life-times the wizards have I see her being the age of a young auror during the first wizarding war and more knowledgeable, to have been able to rise to a position as high as she held before her end. So I place her somewhere in school around the same time as the Marauders, maybe a year or two ahead of them, having graduated and become an Auror before the war ended.

3 chapters to go, got some additional ideas that might stretch it out somewhat, but I am trying to stay in the smaller plotline I got in mind.

I dislike Dumbledore, Severus, and several others, but I am trying to write them all with more motives in this instance than in a simple bash fic, but if its obvious I don't like some characters well tough luck, I am hard pressed to write too favorably on characters I don't like.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I am merely playing with other people's creations, I don't own the game/book/anime/tv-show I am borrowing from, nor am I making any money with this. I am writing for fun and practice, as fan-fiction to be shared with others if I feel like it.

**Chapter 03: New Life**

Stumbling ahead a few steps, Harry sighed briefly as he straightened his back. Try as he might, the magical transportation just seemed to disagree with him, throwing him a few steps at best, or tossing him on his backside at worst. He swore to himself he would find out how others did it so gracefully, but it could wait for now.

"Mr. Potter, welcome to Gringotts US Branch." The goblin that stood there waiting for him flashed a smirk on his face. "Gringotts port-keys are for our employee use normally, but given your unique situation we thought this was the best option for a landing point. Now, I believe you requested a full medical check-up, as well as a set of language charms for travelling purposes?"

Nodding his head slightly, Harry looked around a bit impressed with the large stone room, the crystallic window high above giving some light to the otherwise closed space, the stone platform he had landed on holding ritual circles upon it along with several cushioning charms. He liked the set up, it was a good arrival or departure area for portkeys.

"I am planning to stay in the house mentioned in the summary of my family properties. Do you have the full list of properties available now though?" Harry had seen but a glance of the property list, mostly to know where his family had already acquired homes. He was trying to figure out which ones Dumbledore might know about, and which would stand against a battering of attackers if he had to defend himself even after walking out of the war.

"I have the list right here." The goblin passed him the list, and Harry began to look through it quietly. He still owned two properties in Britain, which were Godric's Hollow (destroyed) and Potter Manor (sealed wards). He had a Chateau (damaged) in France, and 2 houses in Germany (destroyed, heavily damaged), as well as a Villa in Italy along the coast (lightly damaged), and the house in the United States (sealed wards).

"Unseal the house here in America, and please see if the properties in Germany could be sold at a reasonable price. I don't want Godric's Hollow, I only see it in my nightmares of that night, so tell the British ministry they can buy it or I will have it demolished, historical landmark or not." His expression was grim and determined, but the goblin only smirked at the way he put it. "You are aware they'll offer you a far smaller price than the land is worth?"

"Yes, but I don't really want to demolish the house, even if I am never going to visit it. My parents died there and it holds too much bad memories, but it seems important to the wizarding world so they can have it. I just want at least some compensation. Though Gringotts can take twenty per cent slice of the price so I am sure you will squeeze them for every last galleon you can get."

The grin on the goblin's face was a little disturbing but Harry knew they would do their best under such terms to make the most amount of profit they could, bleeding the wizarding world harshly to keep that property intact. He was fine with that, after the way the wizarding world had treated him he was ready to walk away from it.

"I need to visit the ministry here soon to seek political asylum, and renounce my British citizenship." The goblin nod his head slightly before gesturing for Harry to follow after him. "We'll start with the medical check-up and then move to the charms and lastly to heading to the ministry. In a few hours you will be an American citizen."

**#### #### #### ####**

Groaning slowly as he woke up laying on a hospital bed soon after, the weary wizard rubbed his aching head only to find a bandage pressing against the spot his scar was. The dull throbbing pain in his body made him feel nausea, but at the same time he felt better than he had in a long time. He was nauseous, but at the same time his whole body felt stronger.

"Ahh, you are awake. What do you remember?" The goblin standing by his bedside looked at Harry concerned expression on his face, making the young wizard blink. "Uhm, I was laying down on the stone table with the goblin healers going through my body when one of them pointed at my scar and my world exploded in pain."

The goblin man drew a deep breath and sighed. "Very well Mr. Potter, there is no memory loss then. After you passed out, the healers alerted the Director and he wants to talk with you very soon. The healers have a strict potion regime you must follow to counter the effects malnutrition and abuse have left on your body, and many half-healed wounds along the year. Frankly, Mr. Potter, they think you are remarkable person to even still be alive. Just the mention of both Basilisk venom and Phoenix tears in your blood makes them curse up a storm."

Harry smiled a bit sheepishly as he thought about it, but the goblin man still had one more bomb to drop. "The worst however is that they found a soul shard behind your scar that belongs to Voldemort. Those don't come off accidentially unless someone has created several of those vile things. One good thing about them is that if you allow us to extract the one you have, we can use it to strike against that Dark Lord."

This made him pause. Harry thought about the situation and what he had heard from most people, and warily decided to ask. "I would be grateful for any help in extracting such a vile thing from me, but I wonder how it could have gone unnoticed for so long. Uhm, and please don't take offense of this but I thought that Gringotts is famous for staying neutral in wizarding wars?"

There was a short chuckle from the goblin who shook his head at this. "Gringotts Britain doesn't want to choose between incompetent ministry and racist pureblood scum. Whichever side they fought for would turn on them afterwards. The ministry with edicts and taxation, the dark lord by spell and beast to try and steal what wealth the vaults were protecting. Gringotts stays mostly neutral, but Dark Lords are bad for business. We are willing to extract his soul shard because we consider those an abomination and if it helps deal a nasty hit against him, all the better."

**#### #### #### ####**

Amelia Bones was sorting through the incoming mail quietly when a package brought in by a post-owl caught her attention. Most important part of it was the name marked on the tag as the sender was _Sirius Black_. She set the package down and warily cast a dozen different spells on it to test for different curses or nasty surprises, but when all of those tests proved negative, she moved to very carefully open the package, pointing it away from her.

When nothing happened, she finally took a wary look inside and paused, seeing several vials with memories swirling around in them, marked down with dates before Sirius Black's imprisonment and others after it. There was also a second small rack of vials with vials marked with dates in a different handwriting, along with a small letter.

"_Madame Bones,_

_I was never questioned and never given a trial, I was merely thrown in Azkaban because Crouch wanted to close the Potter case as quickly as he could, and Dumbledore swore I was the Potter secret-keeper. Obviously this was a lie, Peter Pettigrew was the secret keeper. James, Remus Lupin and I were three of the four Marauders, pranksters during our Hogwarts years as well as having other secrets. The true traitor, Peter Pettigrew, was the fourth Marauder before his betrayal. I have included several memories to prove this, and offer an explanation what happened._

_You see, Remus Lupin is a werewolf. He was infected when he was but a child, but Dumbledore was willing to let him study at Hogwarts when the proper precautions were taken. James and I found out about his monthly disappearances, and finally found out the secret. We didn't want to abandon our friend on those nights, so we sought a way to help him, and then stumbled upon it almost by accident. Animagi._

_I am an unregistered Animagus with the form of a Grim, James' animagus form was that of a Stag, and Peter was a Rat. No, seriously, the rat-traitor was a rat-animagus. I think it should have been obvious back then, since the animal does represent our inner nature, but we all thought it was because he liked to sneak into girls locker room under James' invisibility cloak to peek at girls._

_Anyhow, these vials contain the memories to prove my claim, and I was there to see you get the means to examine them and confirm their truthfulness. The Potter pensieve has the lawyer's enchantments upon it after all. All I am asking is that you give me the benefit of the doubt and question me under Veritaserum to confirm my story. I just want to have the truth come out._

_Sirius Black_

_Witnessed by_

_Remus Lupin"_

The news combined with the vials shook her to the core. Dumbledore had sealed the will, and let the boy's godfather go to prison without a trial, while his godmother came out of hiding before all the death-eaters could be rounded up and ended up in Saint Mungos permanent resident ward due to that. Something was rotten about this, there was no question there, and it seemed to cling to Dumbledore as the central figure.

"Seeing is believing though." She muttered to herself, moving to the pensieve set into an alcove of her room, and with a quick charm on her office door to lock and alert her if someone tried to come in, she dove her head into the first memory.

**#### #### #### ####**

Rita Skeeter had slept in late, but her latest escapade on spying on the Hollyhead Harpies on the rumor the whole team was sleeping with their manager had turned out a false lead, though she was sure she could use the few facts she did find to cast a serious doubt there, and the people's imagination would fill in the rest of the details. She congratulated herself for another good story idea when she made her way out, and towards the Leaky Cauldron for a late breakfast.

Pushing the door open she noticed the conversations still the moment she came in, and every eye watching her warily. She was used to wary glances, but these were openly hostile, and she felt a nasty chill down her spine when she heard the first comments being muttered her way.

"Buzz off!" "Go Bug someone else!" "Take your dungbeetle personality elsewhere!"

She cast a narrow glance at the front page of the Quibbler on the table and turned pale, swearing silently.

**Rita Skeeter an Illegal Insect Animagus!**

The fact there was an image of Hermione Granger yanking her out of her hair and another of her animagus form returning to her own after being released from a jar by Harry Potter and Hermione Granger was evidence enough for most people, but she noticed several smaller section titles exposing more and more of her dirty deeds.

"Why hasn't anyone arrested her yet?" "Perhaps we should teach her what we think about quick-quote quills!" "Yeah, a good lynching would stop her lies!"

She panicked and turned to flee only to see another customer in the doorway, blocking it and glaring at Rita's way. In a panic at the wands pointed her way too, she made the last mistake. She transformed and tried to fly away, proving to everyone what she really was. The flash of spells flying her way would have just stunned a regular person, but a creature as small as a beetle was thrown by force against the roof and battered into a bloody patch against the roof, killing her in her bug sized form.

It was unintensional but in the end, nobody felt bad about crushing her like a bug, too many people had felt her poison pen's touch or watched someone they knew crumble because of the woman's writing. Even when the Aurors arrived to invenstigate the spellfire, nobody was arrested but the remains of the illegal animagus were quietly scraped along to be checked. The only crumbling coming out of the mess was that she got off too easy.

**#### #### #### ####**

When the Daily Prophet arrived a few hours late, the front page once more captured the Wizarding World's attention. All across the nation people snatched their copy up and went through the article in a hurry. An open letter to the editor by Harry Potter got their attention, especially as despite the many accusations, very few had heard what the boy had to say for himself.

_**Harry Potter's Last Message to the British Wizarding World**_

_When I learned I was a wizard on my 11th birthday, it was the happiest day of my life. I was brought up by abusive guardians who told me repeatedly my drunk parents killed themselves in a car crash leaving me in their care, and that I was lucky they were willing to take me in. They treated me worse than a house elf, and my room in the house was a cupboard under the stairs. No, they were muggles and there were no expansion charms, it was an actual cupboard under the stairs. _

_My parents will said I was not to go there, but Albus Dumbledore sealed that will, because it would expose that Sirius Black was my godfather and not our family's secret keeper, and then I wouldn't grow up ignorant of all magic until it was time for me to come to Hogwarts where the old manipulative bastard could try and shape me up for another follower._

_Since my return I have thrown from one test to another. The Philosopher's Stone hidden in the school to draw Voldemort's shade there possessing one of our professors in the first year, the opening of the chamber of secret in the second year and a cursed diary left behind by an accused death-eater to try and continue the destruction Voldemort and Grindewalde started, and third year with my godfather's escape and confrontation with the real traitor, Peter Pettigrew. _

_When I was thrown into the Tri-Wizard tournament I saw a pattern. Tests after tests, another attempt at my life. Albus Dumbledore and the others even agreed if I didn't put my name to the goblet then someone was trying to get me killed. By the rules, I had 5 hour window to refuse to enter the tournament at all because I was not of age, but they overruled that, making me compete as an adult. In the end, they found out who set the trap, but this cost a fine young man his life, when Cedric Diggory became the first victim of Voldemort's return. _

_The Ministry would claim I am an insane glory-seeking child who is delusional. Minister Fudge told me "It cant be, he can't be back" when confronted with the facts, including a polyjuiced Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr who was kissed on the spot by a Dementor brought along by the Minister, before the man could be even questioned. Denial and destroying evidence, I have to admit I was shocked that they would go to such extent to hide the truth. _

_Some of you may doubt what I have to say. Some of you would want to think the same. To all of you, I ask you, can you afford to have any doubt? Has any investigation gone through to confirm what is known? Both myself and Cedric Diggory got portkeyed out of the third task to a graveyard where a horrible ritual took place, and a necromantic golem was created to house Voldemort's spirit. _

_You may ask for evidence, well you shall have it. I have taken example from a remarkable woman, my mother, and gathered my memories into vials along with an oath on my magic they are the truth, nothing but the truth, and the whole truth. I plan to hand them over to the right authorities soon, who will not destroy them or modify them to try and hide the truth from you. _

_As you are reading this, I am no longer in Britain. I renounce my British citizenship, and leave now while I still can. I have seen the way the ministry denies Voldemort has returned, and I have seen how they let innocent man rot in Azkaban for over a decade, I have seen the way they treat a wizard using magic in self-defense against Dementors, in front of a family member already authorized to know about magic. When they can twist that into a reason to try an underage wizard before the whole of wizengamot, it is a sign that the corruption has spread too far to heal. _

_If I am wrong and this is all delusions, then there is nothing to worry about, and a little checking of facts would lay all those fears to rest quickly. If I am right, then the Ministry is negligent and leaving you all just waiting for the return of the Dark Lord and for the horrors of the last war to start again. I am just asking you, can you take the chance? I am leaving Britain behind me and welcome the Half-Blood Tom Marvolo Riddle to have the cowards and sheep. Tom Marvolo Riddle, or as your anagram says, "I am Lord Voldemort", congratulations. The Ministry has driven me away, they best start hoping for another baby with a miraculous power appears, because this boy has decided they are not worth saving. _

_I urge my true friends to leave Britain, and take care of themselves. They will find a way to reach me later, and I will do what I can to help them. Until then, make sure to duck when you see a green light coming your way._

_With all the respect you deserve (none)_

_Harry James Potter_

_**#### #### #### ####**_

Hermione sobbed quietly in her bed at the Grimmauld place, thinking of her options. She had trusted Ginny when she said she knew people that could get the news out, and she had even met the interesting man Xenophilius Lovegood, a name that made her silently giggle a bit the first time she heard it, but the eccentric man had a magazine known for its interesting, if eccentric articles, and a pensieve as well as a wizard camera he could use together to take snapshots from her memories, and a first-page was quickly done. Getting her revenge on Rita, she had offered to pay for a few copies to be placed at Leaky Cauldron, but Xeno had declined and told her that any friends of her daughter Luna were welcome to a copy or two.

She had thought she could help Harry by exposing that horrible hag for what she was, but Harry had already left, and unlike the headmaster kept insisting, she didn't see a way for Harry to return. He had left, and he urged her to leave as well. Ron and the rest of the Weasleys wouldn't abandon Britain, but Hermione was sniffing as she thought about the way things were, and silently felt her stomach clenching at the mountain of bad things that lay in wait.

Harry was her true friend, Ron kept infuriating her and even after they became a golden trio he managed to belittle her, like during the night of the tri-wizard ball. She was glad Harry had seen her as a girl back then, but Ron's jealousy had ruined most of that night. Then there was the cruel pureblood, Draco Malfoy, who she had enjoyed punching only to be horrified on later learning the kind of things that might have happened if he had sued her for that. Of course, he was reluctant to do so with Harry Potter there as a witness against his own behaviour, but without Harry there, Malfoy might well try and take vengeance on her and she wasn't sure if Hogwarts was safe for her anymore.

There were no hints of where Harry had gone, but she knew she had to consider her options. She had to get home and see her parents. As shaken up as she was, she was sure Mrs. Weasley would try and comfort her here and ask her to stay for the sake of her safety, but she would insist. She had to get to her parents, and show them both the Quibbler and the Daily Prophet. It was time to come clean. She might have to leave the wizarding world behind forever, but staying alive was more important right now.

If Harry could help her, she would follow him out of the country, but for now she'd have to try and convince her parents to leave at least as far as France, and if that wasn't far enough, they might have to consider moving to Australia. Her mother had mentioned wanting to see the Great Outback sometimes, and this might be a good opportunity.

**#### #### #### ####**

Slumping back into the large bed and feeling his head throbbing, Harry Potter was both feeling better than he had ever felt, and at the same time like he had just walked in front of a two-decker lorry. His body was protesting, and he was magically exhausted, but at the same time he felt like the earlier limitations had vanished. His body had grown several inches taller, he still carried a bloody bandage on his head but beneath it, the dark scar that had marked him before was finally gone, a faint white scar slowly healing up.

He had expected a small house somewhere in the countryside, but apparently the Potter who came to the United States was a business man through and through, and had made sure to build his fortune in both muggle and magical world, and had wanted to live somewhere that both could reach him. The penthouse suite of a large steel and glass tower was an unexpected place to find a young wizard, but it suited him just fine right now. He could set up a 'proper wizarding home' sometime if he wanted, he certainly wasn't a poor man by any means.

The family vault had held several artefacts worth checking out, but the one thing that Harry wanted to confirm first was the presence of portraits. His grandparents portraits were there, and more importantly, so were his parents. They had not been activated yet, even in death the portraits had remained at rest till the will was opened, but he had requested them to be brought up to the penthouse suite the following day. He was too exhausted for a tearful reunion that day, not to mention the time-zone difference was hitting him like a ton of bricks.

"Two per-cent share of Microsoft. Doesn't sound like much but its putting a ton of money to the Potter Business Vault. I guess I owe a lot to the grand-uncle Richard for having invested wisely." He let out a long sigh again while trying to snuggle into the sheets and let it all go, and sleep. The goblins had reassured him that with the scar gone, he should have a lot more pleasant dreams without the dark influence of the soul shard trying to exhaust him, and with the potion regime his body and mind should start to heal, though they wanted him to visit from time to time and see a mind-healer if he wasn't getting better soon.

They might see him as an important client and seek to aid him to retrieve sizable fees from his account, but they were fairly open and honest about that, and they did offer good advice too. Harry didn't see anything bad about that. He was pretty grateful for the goblins that had managed his now deceased relatives accounts and investments, the money had been pouring in, perhaps not as fast as some muggle investors were making, but given the sum of money already in those accounts, and the profits generated, he was well off anyway.

In the Wizarding World, the Malfoys were a powerhouse in terms of gold, though their fortune paled to the fortunes of houses like the Potters and the Blacks, but outside of the wizarding world, Harry was fairly sure the investments of his ancestors passed what he could have gotten from just wizarding business. He had smiled on finding 'Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes' - 25 per cent share in his files too. They were just starting up, but had Harry marked as a silent partner. He had immediately ordered a release of additional funds to the twins new business vault to help them get on their feet, along with a small note to take good care of their business and protect themselves from Voldemort.

Yawning again as the fatigue was building on him, he heard the hooting on the balcony and cast a look there. Hedwig was sitting on the metal railing, watching him quietly. Harry smiled and got up just long enough to let Hedwig in and then returning to the bed, watching Hedwig settle to rest on the headboard of his bed. Finding her outside of Gringotts he had asked for the goblins to take care of getting Hedwig safely out of Britain as he had left, but she didn't seem to enjoy waiting around in the goblin vaults, and had been out exploring her new surroundings for a while.

"Good night Hedwig." Harry sighed while pulling the sheets up over her. The wise owl merely hooted her own 'good night' to Harry and waited patiently till the boy's breathing became calm and level. Only then did she fly off to snatch a bit of bacon from the tray set down near her stand in the livingroom, the dish enchanted to always keep a bit of warm bacon on it, fresh and ready. At least, as long as there was some bacon to be had in the fridge. It didn't just conjure it out of thin air, merely transported and warmed it up, while keeping the scent faint enough that it pleased Hedwig without sticking to the surroundings.

Things were looking much better, the white owl thought to herself. Out of the Land of No Bacon, away from the Long Whiskers, and her boy was sleeping peacefully without screams and nightmares threatening him anymore. She felt relieved her little owlet was getting better, but she had no intension to let anyone sneak up on the boy. She could feel the wards around this place, but she wasn't planning on resting soon, she was going to take a watch over the next few days against any threats that might try and pursue her boy. The portkey-ring around one of her legs was there to help her always return home in a hurry too, though it had taken a bit of work to get the boy to understand, and for him to persuade the goblins next. Having it set to go of on only a certain pitch and length of a hoot, rather than a more common word, was an interesting challenge to them though.

Hedwig didn't mind the sensation too much, but it did leave her feathers ruffled so she preferred to fly all the way back even if using the portkey was faster and less exhausting. It was more dignified in her opinion. Still, things were looking up, and she was going to stand by her boy. The soft sounds of his sleep brought some peace to the owl's mind after the burst of activity earlier, but for now, all was fine and she was looking forward to what might come next.

**#### #### #### ####**

"Why that little bastard! _CRUCIO!_" Voldemort shouted angrily and held the spell on Lucius for several seconds, squeezing the Daily Prophet in his hand a furious look on his face. The boy dared to mock him like that, he wanted to gut the boy for his attitude right then and there. What shocked him more was the realization that the chamber of secret had been opened, and realizing the only way that could have happened he had invaded Lucius mind, seeing the truth of the matter in a mere moment.

Cursing the man over and over, Voldemort was mad as hell. The boy had gotten his hands on one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and the muggle-loving headmaster Dumbledoor had seen it as well. The fact Lucius had so carelessly given it away and let it be destroyed meant the blonde moneybag was going to be tortured daily for a long while before he'd be trusted with any important missions.

The fact that some of his followers were acting wary around him and whispering about the anagram of his had his ire rising even further. That was a pompous and self-important moment of weakness in his youth, he liked the name still but it was far too obvious in hindsight to anyone with a lick of common sense. The average British muggle would get it with a moment's thinking, a smart one pretty quickly, but the smartest wizards or witches in British pureblood circles wouldn't come to the conclusion without someone pointing it to them because it was unthinkable to them. At least it had been, before being shown evidence like this.

The one good thing to come out of this mess was that even if she couldn't get to kill the boy himself, he was out of the country, obviously blaming the headmaster for the many mistakes the muggle-loving old fool had made, and even welcoming him, Lord Voldemort, to have the British wizarding world.

"As if I would let you slip from my grip, I will show you, I will hunt you down and rip you to shreds... but seeing as you've abandoned the wizarding world, perhaps I'll make sure my throne is ready and waiting for me when I return with your severed head to put upon the spike. Yes." Voldemort hissed to himself angrily, before stepping on the groaning, twitching body of the Malfoy on the floor as he left his throne room, walking away.

**End Chapter**

A/N: 2 more chapters to go, unless I decide to expand upon this.

I have no real pairings in mind for this story, I dislike Harry/Ginny pairings (I can't understand how its supposed to work out in Canon) but I'm rather open to other options, though I prefer straight pairings (I admit there are good Slash / FemSlash stories but they are not my preference) if there are any to begin with.

Fudge Pardoning the death-eaters versus Bagnold doing it, yes that was a mistake on my part but I am not going to edit it out since it was briefly mentioned and I'll admit it was a mistake here. Perhaps if I'll rewrite this to a longer form sometime. I thought back on how Lucius Malfoy and others could somehow get free later on but that was after the 5th year so yes, only Bagnold has sold pardons till that point.

I got other stories to get back to, but hope to get this small story out of the way as a way of trying some different ideas a bit. Its a cliched mess and borrowing ideas from good authors, but unfortunately I am not even able to point out who all I am giving a shoutout at with the writing as I don't recall which author had come up with what.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I am merely playing with other people's creations, I don't own the game/book/anime/tv-show I am borrowing from, nor am I making any money with this. I am writing for fun and practice, as fan-fiction to be shared with others if I feel like it.

**Chapter 04: Escalation**

It had been a week since Harry Potter left Britain, and Cornelius Fudge could not have been happier. The boy's reputation had been trashed to the point that snapping his wand had only raised some minor protests and a few unpleasant questions. Despite what Dolores kept telling him, he knew that the backlash for trying to have the boy-who-lived obliviated or his core bound would have spelled the end of his career in the ministry, but the boy was harmless as nobody would really listen to a squib. They could wait and steal his family fortune later, of course.

So as he sat down into his comfy chair in his office, opened his desk drawer to pull out the enchanted tea set, and opened a bag he brought in with him that held a few fresh-baked goods he was ready for his day's work. After a nice one-hour tea-break to start off with of course, and no tea was perfect without some tasty crumpets. He was thinking about having some pie for lunch, and wondering what ideas Lucius would present to him later and how much money could be made by acting reluctant until a suitable sum of convincing arguments in the form of galleons had been laid down on his desk.

It was this peaceful, unrushed day that the frantic red-head interrupted, waving his hands in a hurry.

"Minister! Minister! We got a huge problem!"

"What is it Weatherby, can't you see I haven't had my morning tea yet?"

Fudge frowned grumpily at being interrupted, the tea set having begun to heat up on its own but it took a bit before the tea tasted its best. He had spent a few good afternoons trying out different lengths and heats to prepare a tea for himself with and it was time well spent for that perfect cup. He wasn't going to be off his timing because Weatherby had a crisis about too thick cauldron-bottoms at least.

"It's Potter, he's told everything he knows about Voldemort's return to the American press and the international news are raging about his trial as well! The Americans gave him a Citizenship and he testified under Veritaserum and provided memories that supported his story, its a scandal and they're making the British Ministry a laughing stock!"

The news caused Fudge to go pale as he gaped at the red-haired messenger of doom with shock evident on his face, before he bellowed in outrage. "But we had his wand snapped and declared him a squib! He can't testify, the damn boy should be grateful he wasn't obliviated already!" Fudge snarled angrily at the assistant who dropped the newspapers on his desk.

"_**British Ministry: Slander and Sham-Trials" **_was a name of an article showing a pensieve of the Wizengamot trial of Harry Potter, recounting the trial practically word to word and highlighting the illegal acts and violation of rights commited. The slanderous writing about the boy-who-lived was described there, along with a wealth of evidence to counter any of the remarks Fudge had spent good money to spread around as the truth while burying the evidence of his own wrong-doings.

The next paper started with a bold headline _**"Voldemort's Resurrection: Death Eaters Unmasked" **_and if Fudge thought his day was bad just seeing the first paper, the second one made him feel as if he was going to have a stroke. Picture of Voldemort greeting his faithful minions as they stood there without their masks, and his known campaign supporter and advisor Lucius Malfoy stood there grinning in the front lines. That would look bad for him too, and worse the United States press release they quoted stated that any death eaters caught on their territory would be treated as known terrorists, and detained immediately.

However it was the third paper that made him pale all over and whimper, seeing the image of Harry Potter and the American Minister of Magic shaking hands, with the muggle President Clinton standing nearby and smiling while overseeing the deal being made. _**"Potter Receives American Citizenship, Renounces Britain"**_.

The fact the Americans worked to bring the magical world and the muggle world closer together wasn't a huge secret, they didn't follow the same statute of secrecy either, and yet the fact remained that all his efforts to discredit Potter were now useless. The American Minister was known to be a very good judge of character and his support would make in impossible to try and refute the boy's statements in the International news.

"None of this will be printed in the Prophet, let the censors we had to put in place after the letter from Potter got published that if I see even a hint of these articles in the Daily Prophet then they're all out of a job!" Fudge glared at Weatherby who quickly nod and hurried off to relay his orders, leaving the angry politician to sip on his tea, finding its taste ruined by having allowed the leaves to soak too long. It wasn't as good as it would have been, and it was all because of the damn Potter and Weatherby.

**#### #### #### ####**

"Stupefy!"

A crimson bolt of magic struck the target at the other end of the range and as the target doll shook from the force of the spell, the floating crimson number above it got recorded by the focus-maker. Gesturing over towards the next one, the young woman was deathly pale but had hair dark as midnight, smiling in a polite fashion to the young man testing the different instruments.

"Stupefy!"

The crimson bolt sent ahead this time was first looking like it was going to miss but curving towards the end to adjust its flight-path it struck the target doll with force and caused it to creak on its stand, almost blown apart despite its sturdy construction and reinforcement runes. The number floating above the doll reflected the power of the hit too.

"Well, I think we have a winner, Mr. Potter. While the Redwood Wand with a Thunderbird Feather seems to work at least as well as your old Phoenix Feather wand did, I believe your focus-ring is the strongest focus for your particular style of magic."

"Thank you Miss Sa'idhe, I think you are right. The Phoenix Feather worked well for me but I think any magical bird has a reaction with me from the looks of things. I am still not sure why the ring is this powerful in my hands though."

"Well you are a natural flyer, I would not be surprised if your animagus form turns out to be an avian, and you seem to move like the wind in a battle from what I have seen. No grandstanding with conjured walls and shields, nor bombardment of fiery magic meant to burn your foe to cinders while taking minimum precautions. You do adapt quickly and use tactics that press on the smallest holes in your foes defenses though, so I imagine water and air are your elements, though air far more dominant than water."

"I don't know, my only experiences with a lot of water aren't pleasant ones. Being trapped on a small island in a storm with my relatives, and having to swim in a cold lake to save a former friend of mine from the depths of the lake. I am still upset they made Ron my captive for that, seeing him and Hermione, I naturally thought she would be the one I would miss the most."

"Perhaps so, Mr. Potter, but there is bit of each element in each of us, and your fiery temper in certain situations would suggest you would get along with other fiery personalities. Yet you have a deep richness of those calm waters, a reservoir of maturity that has been cultivated by your experiences. You are not so prone to swinging moods and jealousy, unlike some overly fiery personalities from all you have shared. Nonetheless, we have found your element, and we have found a focus. The Ring will be keyed to you and only you by a few drops of blood, and then you will walk out of here once more armed with the means to do more than rudimentary magic."

"Thank you."

"My pleasure, Mr. Potter."

**#### #### #### ####**

Hermione read through the Gazette de Magique a second time after having gone through the day's articles, a measure of shock and uncertainty going through her mind. She was happy to read her friend was safe in the America, but at the same time she felt she had lost something precious when she hadn't written to him before. Her attempts to write him from Grimmauld place after Dumbledore gave his permission had returned unopened, with the post-owls looking apologetic.

She had convinced her parents to leave Britain behind for a vacation in France to start off with, and was now considering her options. Her parents hadn't been pleased when she finally came clean of all the dangers she had gone through in the wizarding world, but hearing her speak about Harry had won her mother on her side. They had agreed to consider leaving England completely, but they wouldn't make the final decision until their vacation was over.

She had hoped to hear from Harry again, but she had partially expected he would seek her out or owl her, rather than reading it in the newspaper. Harry didn't like his fame from what she had seen, but perhaps this was just important enough for him to stand up and confront his bullies. He was letting the world know and react to the presence of Voldemort, allowing the adults to deal with the matter. It was better than throwing Harry at the problem time and a time again and hoping he would keep winning rather than being crushed by the impossible odds.

"Looks like your friend has made quite a lot of headlines." Emma Granger smirked faintly on seeing Hermione's embarrassed expression on having been caught staring at the picture of Harry so intently after reading the article. She couldn't help it, she missed him, she didn't know if Hogwarts was worth all the trouble in it without Harry by her side.

"I'm just happy he's alright. I have missed him." Hermione said honestly and sighed, a gesture that Emma didn't miss as she reached out to rest a hand atop Hermione's own. "Write to him again. You know the country he is in now, and aren't the owls supposed to be able to track a person down if they are close enough? I am sure even if he has set up something to stop his mail he would let yours through, from all you have written about him I believe he would know you are a true friend and at least hear you out."

Hermione sighed and looked down a bit guiltily. "I should have written him before. The headmaster told me it was best to let Harry be but I should have written him. He was all alone with his relatives and then being thrown in court and next thing we know he is gone. I respect the headmaster but I think I should have made my own decision about sending Harry a message rather than allowing the headmaster to convince me not to. I am paying for that mistake now."

Emma shook her head sadly before looking at her daughter in the eyes. "Hermione Jean Granger, you are one of the smartest girls your age but everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I can tell that you want to contact Harry, and that you are blaming yourself for all of this, but I need to ask you this. Do you really think Harry is blaming you and mad at you?"

Seeing Hermione sniff and rub the corners of her eyes Emma waited to see her daughter shake her head. "No, he's too bloody noble to do that, he even forgave Ron after he abandoned us last year. He doesn't forget though, he forgave Ron but they're no longer the same. I am not sure if we will be the same either. It scares me to think I might lose Harry."

Emma smiled and reached over to pet Hermione's hair gently, allowing a soft sigh to leave her lips. Over the years most of Hermione's letters had to do with Harry and the magic she was learning, but most of it was about Harry. It didn't take a genius to recognise her daughter had it bad for Harry, and from all she had heard other than the Daily Prophet the boy was a prince. Given what the Gazette de Magique was saying about the British newspaper though, she was fairly confident her daughter had given her a more accurate description than the so called 'Prophet' had tried to paint on the wall.

"You need to send a word to him. We'll be staying here for a few weeks still, so maybe you can find a courier service at the alley to send a message to the states and have it owled to him from there? I believe they said that the bank they have here offers a variety of services for the right price? Gringotts, that was the name."

Hermione sniffed slightly and nod her head. "I'll ask. Thanks mom."

**#### #### #### ####**

The Prison of Azkaban stood alone on the cold, harsh rock it has been built upon, the waves striking its shores and cold chill reaching deep within at the mere sight of the forlorn fortress. It was a soul-crushing, oppressive monument to misery standing out among the cold waters.

It was at these shores that Voldemort lead his loyal death-eaters and the new recruits, a cruel smirk playing on his lips at the thought of liberating his followers that had been imprisoned on this god-forsaken rock. He would take back his men and prove to the wizarding world that nobody could stand in his way. Leaving the aurors behind dead or soulless would send a clear message, and the dementors under his control would spread death and destruction to the muggle world and on his magical enemies alike.

The extensive wards around the prison prevented them from simply portkeying to the shore and marching to the fortress, but as the ferry reached the shore the robed forces began their approach, confident in their master's power despite their bleak surroundings. Many of them felt the chill of icy winds, the cold sea behind them, and the fear the place was known to invoke, but the one chill they expected was not there.

With no signs of dementors, Voldemort was left to advance the fearsome gates with his minions out in the open. He had expected to meet with the dementors once he reached the shore, drawing them towards him by the amount of dark arts he had practiced like moths to a candle. They should have been here to serve him, helping take out the guards watching over this place and make his approach an easy walk.

Yet there were no spells being fired from the walls, no guards watching the place like hawks. It was a little eerie, but the forces advanced swiftly before things would change. Reaching the gates, the death-eaters watched their surroundings but found no light, no signs of life, and no resistance. Moving ahead to the dark hallways, pulling rusted old doors open with the worn wood creaking at their manhandling, they were surprised the places weren't even locked.

Voldemort had a bad feeling things were not going to turn out as he had expected, and hastened his step. He had a feeling he was walking into an ambush, but he would break whatever fools would dare to try and interrupt him. Marching ahead he watched for any signs of a threat, but none came.

When they finally entered the cellblock housing his most favored servants, the rich smell of copper in the air made Voldemort pause. Eyes widened, he stormed ahead to blast the door to a cell apart, revealing the ghastly sight of Bellatrix with her throat slit and her eyes staring ahead unseeing. As the other cells were blown open and inspected, the Dark Lord's anger only grew. Each one of his loyal servants that had been sentenced to Azkaban waiting their liberation was already dead. Their blood was warm, so the killer had only struck a moment ago.

"My Lord, the wards just pulsed!" The death-eater shouting in alarm turned to face the Dark Lord, only to then shriek in horror as dark arms reached out of the wall, gaunt, skeletal limbs grasping onto him and drawing him towards the wall and the large, widening jaw in it. Screaming and trying to cast a spell on the horror, his close-range bombarda both shattered the worn old wall and blasted him and several people around him to pieces as well as raining shrapnel further away.

The darkness about them seemed to come alive, with large jaws, unblinking eyes and cold, gaunt arms reaching to drag people to the waiting teeth manifested. Voldemort's own eyes widened in horror. _Hungry Darkness _was the sort of sorcery that only few people could pull off, some very old, very powerful and sadistic houses. It was the sort of thing he would have wanted to boast of having, but even he only knew enough to recognise it.

"Fall back! Break the anti-portkey wards and get us out of here!" He ordered while moving to protect his followers, the curse-breakers being the most important ones. Inside he was seething as his forces were diminished second by second, instead of gaining new men, he was losing several of his raw recruits while Lucius and other old servants were barely holding their own.

Finally the wards broke, and the death-eaters activated them as soon as the announcement was made, leaving Azkaban behind as the shadows finally relinquished their chew-toys, vanishing away to form simple shade once more.

**#### #### #### ####**

"Last thing I saw before returning was old Lucius almost losing a couple of fingers to the jaw that was trying to draw him in. Too bad those curse-breakers couldn't be just a minute or two slower." There was a grin on Mad-Eye Moody's face as he stood before Amelia, then giving a pat on the back to the man standing next to him.

"I have to admit, I had my doubts about the idea but you were right. Even Voldemort's afraid of the Black Wards." There was a small chuckle from the cloaked figure before he pushed the hood back, revealing the face of Sirius Black smirking a bit tiredly. "I always enjoyed pulling pranks on the pureblood fanatics, Voldemort's little club of bigots and sadists in particular, but those pranks weren't mean to maim and murder. Still, it had to be done."

Moody grunted and nod. Black was an Auror before things went wrong, and he was more keen to inconvienience or stun people than kill them, but the House Black had several very dark and powerful wards and setting some of them up in Azkaban was a relatively safe way to hurt Voldemort. Combined with thin leather collars imprinted with a one-shot -reducto- aimed inwards on the prisoner's neck if an unauthorized guest came by, and Voldemort had practically killed the men he came to save.

"While I am not happy to resort to killing people I could not allow them to rejoin the Dark Lord. Even sending more aurors on the walls would have only resulted in a fight and likely a slaughter. Having the guards gathered at the break room with a port-key timed to go off the moment the wards pulsed the anti-portkey ward off and the black wards began to turn on seemed like the best option to take. Of course we wouldn't have been able to do any of it without your warning, Moody." Amelia nod her head with a relieved but tired look upon her face.

"Hmmh. Dumbledore got informed by Snape a week ago, I only learned of this three days ago so we had to move quickly. Getting more aurors to Azkaban without notice would have taken more time, time that Dumbledore didn't leave us. The old fool was going to let it happen, and let those servants join their master. I think the old man is loosing it, but I expect he will not be pleased to hear Snape reporting what happened. He'll probably recognise the method used too." Casting a look at Sirius, Moody left unsaid what they were both thinking already.

"Incidentially, I am planning to take a trip abroad for a while. I will return in time for my trial when its possible to arrange one, but with the current political climate and turmoil I doubt that will happen anytime soon. By the way, where did you get those Dementors sent anyway?" Sirius looked a little curious about this thought while looking at Amelia.

Amelia chose to simply smirk for a moment and cast a look at Moody who chuckled. "Ahh, she made a good case that if Potter was attacked by a dementor that has gone rogue we need to call all of them together and see if any of them are missing or not. It was kept to a small number of people asked to expose their forearm before being informed of the matter. Since the Department of Mysteries kindly volunteered to do this, I imagine that the dementors will be busy for a while. Meanwhile the muggle prison the non-deatheater prisoners were sent to will suffice, the prisoners will sit in isolation with the magic-restricting shackles on without a wand. Given the kind of folks they are, they're practically getting a holiday but it's only until Azkaban can be restored."

**#### #### #### ####**

"This meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards is now in session. Mr. Dumbledore has requested the opportunity to speak." There was a fair share of muttering and sharp glares cast at the man that had made the English and the Europeans seem foolish when the news about the Potter boy's treatment had broken out. It had cost the man a lot of influence to try and stop the movement to have him removed from the ICW. The fact he was still there was a sour point for many of the other representatives, but there was one silver-lining to things.

"Supreme Mugwumb Delacour, this man has only just barely avoided being banished from our organisation, after the scandal about the Potter heir. I ask that you deny his request, it would be best if Mr. Dumbledore thought about the way his actions have reflected on everyone else, and what they have cost both Britain and the world."

The German representative was a tall, blonde man that seemed like a cross between Hagrid and Lucius Malfoy. Powerful, broad-shouldered, yet regal and dignified, he carried the fur-lined cloak bearing the sigil of the Faust family. They were known for their presence, their uncanny ability to unearthe answers had even spawned a muggle Myth about one of their ancestors, and his objection was almost enough to bury Dumbledore's request to speak before he even got a word out. Almost.

"I would prefer to let Mr. Dumbledore speak. He may have made mistakes but haven't we all? He is here to speak as part of the ICW, he has already suffered a loss of rank, let us not humiliate a man who stopped Grindewald for petty reasons. I move we let him speak." The Spanish representative might not like Dumbledore, but the two fo them supported each other in a lot of things. He was only one of the people Dumbledore had called in a favor or two with, in order to get his chance to speak.

"I second that, let the man speak." The swedish representative said, before more and more people raised their voice for letting the old man speak, while others made their stance besides Faust, joining him in wanting to keep Dumbledore quiet for at least a few sessions to think about the narrow vote that had permitted him to stay as a representative to Brittain on the ICW, for now.

"Order!" Mr. Delacour commanded and tapped his wand on his desk, causing a silencing spell to hit each other desk lasting only for a few seconds, but enough for him to make his point. "We have many items on the agenda and quarrel over a matter as trivial as this is not worth an argument. I call for a vote whether or not to allow Mr. Dumbledore to speak, if the no's have majority, we will further request that Mr. Dumbledore refrain from speaking unless addressed for the duration of the meeting."

There was a general murmur of agreement, and the votes were cast after a moment. It was a narrow count, Dumbledore watched the numbers climb as people tapped their wand on their desk to cast their vote quietly, until the last votes came in. It was a decision made by the last two votes, but at least it was not a tie. Not a strong majority, a rather divisive vote all things considered, but in the end, a decision was reached.

"Mr. Dumbledore, it is apparent you don't hold as high regard as you used to, but since you still have enough support to hold a technical majority for the moment, you have the floor." Mr. Delacour's expression was enough to say which way he had voted, the glare cast at the English swine who imprisoned children to abusive relatives would have promised dire things to Dumbledore if looks could kill.

"Thank you." Mr. Dumbledore rose from his seat to make his way to the front of the room, standing before the Supreme Mugwumb's seat and turning his back to it to address the gathered representatives, seething within that he was not resting comfortably at his usual position behind the elevated desk looking more at level at the many people he had come to know over the years, some friendly others more guarded and some outright hostile now. Truth was a powerful thing, and so dangerous that it should always be watched over by a bodyguard of lies.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the ICW, I stand before you today to speak about the common threat we all face. Voldemort has returned, and his dreams of conquest extend far beyond the shores of Britain. Already he has sought to renew his alliances with vampires, werewolves, giants and dementors. Already he has began to gather his faithful followers for the coming storm. While the ministry refused to believe my warnings, or those of Mr. Potter, they undermined my best efforts to prepare people for the coming conflict."

Sighing heavily, the old man had a worn and tired look upon his face at this, his voice sounding like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders as he carried on. "Working under such pressure has taken its toll, and unfortunate events have taken place in the last few days. While I have always been working for the Greater Good of the Wizarding World, I am neither omniscient nor omnipotent. So I stand before you humbly asking for your aid, for even if Voldemort seeks to rule Britain first, he will turn his eyes on the mainland, and seek to take all under his thrall."

Clearing his throat and standing a bit taller, the headmaster then carried on with a serious, wary tone of voice as he played a card he had been hiding for a good while. "However! I have known for quite a while that this was a possibility. The ministry may not have wanted to hear me out, but I am certain that you are much wiser, especially considering the circumstances and the proof. Voldemort has returned, and the reason I suspected this before as well was that a prophecy was made many years ago, that foresaw the coming of the end for the Dark Lord. It spoke of the coming of the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord, and suggests only that person may succeed in this. Harry Potter."

The representatives were muttering to one another, staring intently on the old man as Dumbledore held his tongue for a moment, letting them think it over. He held up a crystal ball in his hand, with its stand announcing it was a prophecy concerning Voldemort and Harry Potter. A bit more was evident above those names, most likely who made the prophecy and to whom, but it was the name of the Dark Lord and the Boy-who-Lived that mattered most to the gathered crowd.

"While Mr. Potter has been treated poorly by the ministry, he is the sole hope for the defeat of Voldemort, and even as we speak the Dark Lord is growing stronger. I ask that you all think a moment about what is at stake here, and lend Britain a hand against the Dark Lord, but also offer your support in bringing Harry back home. It has been prophecized that he is the one to bring an end to this, and we need him to return."

This started a firestorm of shouting and arguing, as the body seemed split even more violently between those who agreed with him and those who opposed him. The neutrals in this mess would cast the decisive votes about the matter, but Dumbledore felt relatively certain that the favors he had called in would carry the decision in his favor. With the ICW behind him, it would be much easier to demand the Americans to return Harry to his homeland. Then the boy would face his destiny. All for the sake of Greater Good.

**End Chapter**

A/N: 1 more chapter left before this story is over.

This is more of a collection of snap-shots to a story than a real story in my own opinion, but I hope its entertaining enough. I had the idea playing around in my mind but I was not sure how to fill it up to the full glory it might have had, and decided to experiment on it by making it into a 5-part piece that would focus on a few events here and there, to tell the story. I am not sure if I succeeded in what I was after.

I ended up being too busy to write along the week, but I plan to write more along this weekend. With any luck, and barring the appearance of any writer's block, I should have the last chapter before Sunday evening and finish this story by then.

People in the story may be out of character, there may be mistakes I've made (I have already noticed about the pardons bought from Bagnold nor Fudge, and had to look back before writing the section about Dumbledore in this chapter if I had said more about his situation with the ICW in the previous chapters) but I carry on writing and seek to improve on things.

Nonetheless, I hope its' been worth the wait to get this chapter out, and the conclusion shall be brought up as soon as its possible.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I am merely playing with other people's creations, I don't own the game/book/anime/tv-show I am borrowing from, nor am I making any money with this. I am writing for fun and practice, as fan-fiction to be shared with others if I feel like it.

**Chapter 05: Curtain Call**

"Severus, would you care to explain how they knew we were coming?" Voldemort snarled at his spy on the headmaster, fully aware that Severus was also spying on him. As long as none of the information was too important, he had permitted this. It helped Severus gain the old fool's trust, after all. Dumbledore never seemed to act on the information either, being content to know about things beforehand even if he could have saved lives.

"My Lord, I had no idea something like this could even happen. I thought it would be the same as always, a little bit of useless information, without an exact date he would not go there himself and the order would not interfere. I never said a word about it to anyone but Dumbledore, and he would not have done something like this."

Voldemort glared at his spy silently for a moment and wondered whether or not Severus had outlived his usefulness. While Voldemort was prone to anger, he was also keenly aware he only had few death-eaters still on his side, and recruitment had taken a nose-dive after the slaughter at Azkaban. He was having hard time holding onto the prospective death-eaters he already had, some of them seemed to hesitate about their coming initiation with the way things were going.

"I am not pleased with you, but I am going to give you a chance to redeem yourself. The boy believes you are part of Dumbledore's group, and Dumbledore has been calling for his return to Britain. I want you to get an international port-key and travel to the America, and grab the boy for me. With him dead, the prophecy will no longer matter, and thanks to Dumbledore revealing it, they all have their hopes tied to the boy. With his death, their hopes die as well."

Severus hesitated, the Americans had made it perfectly clear that death-eaters would be detained on arrival, and there had been some suggesting that they might even be executed at the slightest show of resistance. They had very narrow view about how terrorists should be treated. Of course, refusing a task set out to him by Voldemort could be just as fatal.

"I will do as you command my lord, but it may be difficult to bring back the boy." He started a bit carefully, and seeing the frown chose to continue quickly. "I may have to hurt him to subdue him. Is that alright my lord?" He didn't like the idea of trying to sneak out of the country with the well known boy under his arm and bleeding, the guards would stop him before he could reach the international port-key area. Besides he wasn't sure how easy it would be to locate the boy in the first place. "I might also need some extra galleons to cover the costs of getting information on where the boy will be so I can grab him when there's least protections around him."

"Fine. See Lucius about the gold before you head out, but I will not tolerate any more failures. If you can't capture the boy, don't bother returning at all. You either succeed in capturing him, or I will have you hunted down and killed for your incompetence. You are on your last chance Severus, fail me again and I will have you polyjuiced into a red-head girl and give you to your brother death-eaters under a silencing spell. Reminds me of your initiation ceremony, except this time you will be the girl instead of being the one to bring a girl."

Severus paled and bowed hurriedly, then fleeing the room in a rush. Voldemort chuckled at watching the man's fleeing back, raising his wand lazily and whispering 'Crucio' just barely audible, shooting a short, but intensely painful jolt through the man's whole body catching him in the back, and smiling cruelly as Severus practically crawled out of his throne room. Maybe it'd teach the bastard to not mess up with his plans.

**#### #### #### ####**

"Thank you for coming Mr. Potter. I understand you are rather busy these days, preparing to join the Salem Academy, and catching up on the materials." The goblin manager smiled to his new client, enjoying the prestige the boy brought him. He might not be the wealthiest wizard out there, but he was in the top one-hundred certainly, the investment with the Microsoft saw to that, and unlike some the boy wasn't going to hide all of it away in a vault but wanted a fair share of the money coming in to be invested.

"I always have some time for people with good advice. The letter said that this was urgent, so what has happened since the last time I was in your office?" Harry inquired seriously while looking at the goblin curiously. Ever since the goblins had removed his curse-scar and the soul-shard behind it, they had been rushing about busily, though they had asked for a copy of the memory of the ritual that Voldemort had commited at the grave-yard.

"There's a couple of matters I would like to bring to your attention. First, your former Headmaster Dumbledore has gotten the ICW to issue an order for the Americans to relinquish you and return you home. The American ministry has already torn their official document in two before their eyes and slapped down the citizenship papers before them, before warning them about severe consequences for any attempted kidnappings of a citizen."

"Why am I not surprised. What about the rest?"

"Two of the people on your list, Hermione Granger and Sirius Black have owled you. Both letters have been checked for tracking charms and portkeys, and I am happy to say neither held anything suspicious in them. I will hand them over by the end of this meeting. Now, the main thing I wanted to see you about is that our Elders confirmed the Director's suspicion. Voldemort is guilty of line-theft by trying to claim your blood as his own, and the documents show that the line of Gaunt died that night in 1981. He has no rights as a necromantic golem, he is not even a person anymore. As such, we would like you to take part in a ritual to destroy him for good."

"Leaving the matter of those letters aside for now," Harry drew a deep breath sighing and wondering briefly about what they might contain, but strangling his hopes for now. The two of them had both in their own way chosen to believe Dumbledore over him, and it still hurt. "I would like to know what the ritual does, what all is involved, and how soon it can be done. I may not like the wizarding world in Britain right now, but I don't believe they deserve to suffer because of Dumbledore's failings. I am not returning to Britain however, and I will never work with that manipulative old bastard."

"We would not ask you to, Mr. Potter. The ritual targets the only magical bloodline he has any claim on anymore, yours. You will renounce Voldemort from your family, and renounce the power in his blood. You will call upon your blood and magic to return to you, and charge him for line-theft according to the old laws. The magic will see your claim as just, and strip Voldemort of blood and magic drawn from you. Given that you provided us a link to his soul, we can safely dispose of his spectre after his golem-body dies."

"I thought you said those soul-shards would anchor him to this world and make him partially immortal?"

"They cannot stop a person dying of old age, so Voldemort would still die even with the soul-shards, even faster than a normal wizard since he has made several and suffered lengthy periods of time outside of a body. Souls are not meant to exist without a body after all. When his necromantic golem falls apart, we will strike on the soul-shard, and they will all share the pain and damage. We will strike on it by magic, little by little shattering it and through its link, the other pieces. When we finally strike to kill, the catastrophic failure of its anchor will batter the other anchors that are already weakened by the previous damage, and as they break there will be nothing holding his soul to this world anymore."

"Then lets do it." Harry nod his head silently. The goblin began to explain the procedure in a serious manner, the private meeting room heavily warded to make sure not a word of this would escape before it was too late for the followers of the Dark Lord to do anything about it.

**#### #### #### ####**

When the port-key tossed Severus down on his arse at the end of the long journey, he felt like emptying his stomach on the stones before him but fought to keep his nausea under control. Vomiting would draw attention to him, and he couldn't really afford that now. Hurrying to get up and heading out, the greasy-haired wizard silently swore under his breath he would make the Potter-brat regret the day he was born.

"Severus Tobias Snape?" A voice called out behind him, and caused the death-eater's blood to run cold for a second as he glanced back. He didn't recognise the young man pointing a wand at him, but he recognised Auror robes. "You are under arrest on suspicion on being a death-eater. Your involvement with the British terrorist-organisation is well known and documented, and your arrival was unscheduled. Turn in your wand slowly, and-"

Seeing no other aurors nearby, Severus pulled out his wand slowly, holding it like he was going to turn it in before shooting a quick reducto at the man's throat. The auror raised his arm in the way to stop the reducto with the dragonhide gauntlet, shredding it and tearing a shallow cut on his arm, but protecting his throat and refusing to move out of the way and letting the man hit one of the civilians behind him. The auror's other arm moved quickly, the wand-movement precise and practiced. The yellow sphere shot forth and before Severus could do anything it struck him in the stomach, causing the potion-master to collapse to the ground.

As Severus trembled in shock, the spell burnt through his veins, his nerves flaring and his mind racing. The spell's effects were similar to a cruciatus, leaving him trembling on the ground with little control of his limbs, but the pain was numbed. It was incapacitating though, and he had not encountered it before. It would be difficult to reverse even if he had brought allies with him, but no he was alone in this.

Several other aurors moved in and as Severus fainted his last thought was that it was all Potter's fault.

**#### #### #### ####**

Three days later, Hermione Granger sat in first class seat on a plane heading to the states, her parents one row behind her, trying to decide what she would say to Harry when she finally saw him again. He had replied to her letter with a short one asking her to meet with him, and to bring her parents with her. The envelope had also held the plane-tickets to travel first-class to their destination. It gave her hope that Harry would forgive her, but at the same time she felt all those worries keeping her awake. She should have rested but despite how noble Harry could be, she worried if he would reject her there in person, because she did feel she had betrayed him.

She had only wanted to keep Harry safe, and the headmaster had been quite convincing in his argument that the owls could be traced and that Harry's snow-white owl was easy to recognise and could lead the death-eaters right back to him. The fact they'd asked she didn't write at all had sounded cruel to her but she had reluctantly agreed. She had put her trust in the wrong people, and she could only hope that she would get a second chance.

The letter and the tickets had lead to a long discussion between her, Emma and Daniel. Her dad was not happy to have a strange boy inviting his daughter away to the other side of Atlantic ocean during their vacation, but Emma had convinced him to let her go, since they would be going too. While Hermione knew her dad wasn't going to leave it at that, she was thankful her mother had at least persuaded him to agree to this much. She wanted a chance to show Harry she thought he was more important than the old man. She wanted to tell him how much he mattered to her.

Her cheeks were a bit flushed at that thought. It might just be her hormones speaking but Harry had fought through those challenges, he had stood up for himself and he had worked hard to overcome the harsh odds time after time. She had been pleased to see the way Harry's eyes widened on seeing her dressed up for the ball, before Ron had to ruin that night. She would have wanted to go with Harry but he was the boy-who-lived, and a clueless boy. If he knew how many would have wanted to go with him, and wasn't so shy, he would have had the pick of the witches at the castle.

She didn't know why she bothered with those thoughts, she was Harry's friend and wanted to see he was safe and well in the States. Not to mention she was a little concerned about the fact Harry's letter had suggested she might want to consider the American schools instead of Hogwarts. She knew that returning without Harry would be risky, but she wasn't sure where she should go, Australia seemed like a good option but their funds were finite and it would take a lot to set things up there.

Troubling thoughts rolled through her mind as she finally tried to settle down for some sleep as exhaustion pressed heavily on her shoulders. Even as she began to fall asleep those worries haunted her uneasy dreams.

**#### #### #### ####**

"Moody, how could you do something like this? I gave you that information in confidence, you may have compromised Severus' efforts." Albus Dumbledore shook his head a disappointed look on his face, but Moody looked unconcerned about this.

"Save your speech, you had information that could be used to protect the wizarding world from some of the worst killers and you decided to just sit on it. If those criminals had gotten out they would be celebrating it by burning down a muggle village somewhere. They were not worth any tears, and because of that information we even got several other death-eaters that came to rescue their companions."

"They were still people! They were living, breathing people that could have chosen differently if given a chance. The Dark Lord is an intimidating figure, who knows how many innocents you killed with your rash actions?"

Moody spat on the floor and glared at Dumbledore before speaking loudly. "We interrogated a few of those 'innocent' death eaters of yours that went to the jail to learn about the process of getting a dark mark. None of them are innocent, their initiation ceremony involves rape, torture and murder. Each one of them is an animal, and their dark marks are drawn with the blood of their ritual victim. No Albus, we did not kill any innocents that night."

**#### #### #### ####**

As Harry stepped into the ritual chamber wearing only the white silk robe he saw the goblin elders standing nearby with the ritual circle carved into the stone floor, the large altar at the middle holding the white ball of necromantic flesh into which his scar had been transferred for the sake of this ritual. The curved knife, the documents making him the Potter of Potters, and the ritual chants together should strengthen the connection enough to carry him through this.

"I, Harry James Potter, the Head of House Potter, am thus declaring Tom Marvolo Riddle a usurper of our Noble lineage, and guilty of line-theft. I charge him with theft of magic, theft of blood, and call upon the Old Magic to recognise my claim." As magic shimmered around him, he drew breath and then continued loudly.

"I, Harry James Potter, hereby claim the Gaunt lineage through right of conquest. As the one attacked and surviving the encounter, I ask the Old Magic to recognise my claim to the Gaunt lineage and through it the Slytherin lineage." His voice held firm even as the magic building in the room was making every hair stand on its end and his body ache underneath the silk robes, the material resisting magic slightly and protecting him from the worst of the power he was calling upon. Old Magic was dangerous, and impossible to fool, so Purebloods claimed it was Dark and sought to keep it from being used. Several old old-magic bindings still remained, like an unbreakable vow, but this was a call to the Old Magic in its purest form, asking to be judged and standing at trial for justice.

"I, Harry James Potter, hereby lay claim to Tom Marvolo Riddle's possessions and his marked followers by right of conquest, having defeated his spectre three times in different forms, and thus proven myself. I ask that magic judge these followers for their crimes and strip those unworthy of their magic of both magic and life if their crimes are too heavy to be paid by just losing their magic. So mote it be!"

The chamber glowed and the goblin elders that had been chanting through the whole proclamation moved forth, and as one of them opened a vial of dark liquid Harry dipped the goblin made blade with the vile liquid, then scratching the necromantic flesh with his scar with the dagger's tip. Flaring with light the scar began to bleed, and Harry kept dragging the dagger's poisoned edge against the necromantic flesh.

The goblins watched him carve the rune of banishment into the flesh before nodding to Harry, who raised the dagger and drove it down into the scar, causing it to flare up and burn with a wailing scream rising into the air. The backslash sent them all laying on the ground, but even as they collapsed, they knew at least one shard of Voldemort was gone, and by the built up power it was likely none of them others had survived as well.

**#### #### #### ####**

"Break the wards and advance! With Madame Bones dead there will be nobody competent in the ministry to resist us! Death to the blood-traitors!" Voldemort's words brought a cheer from the death eaters that were eager to avenge their dead, and punish the insolent woman who chose to oppose their master's will. The curse-breakers and warders they had lured in their service were doing their best to unravel the wards around the house after having set up their own anti-portkey and anti-apparition wards, and blocking the floo travel. The fields would keep the traitors prisoners of their own manor while the death eaters battered the defenses apart.

The curses thrown from the windows were by necessity few and badly aimed, with several death eaters bombarding the house windows with curses of their own the residents would have to seek cover to not be hit in return. The wards that blocked spells from the outside had crashed down first, but the ones that would stun or wound uninvited intruders were standing strong and Voldemort wanted to avoid walking under any more surprises. He was not going to step under wards that might include Black family wards again as long as he was alive, that was an experience he would rather not repeat.

"The wards are coming down now my Lord!" The death eater in charge of the curse-breakers and warders declared, bringing a maniacal grin on their Lord's face. "Good! Now attack and bring the traitors before me! I want them alive!" He grinned cruelly, while his forces advanced.

Amelia Bones put up a brave fight besides her niece, but they were badly outnumbered and exhaustion was setting in as they used the heavy desk in Amelia's office as a shield. Even a full-blown bombarda only rattled its surface, reinforced with magic it was made to serve as a shield if an assassin attacked her in this office. The foresight that showed was one of the reasons Voldemort wanted her dead and out of the way.

Finally the spellfire seemed to end, and Amelia had a brief hope that Aurors had arrived, but the cold voice she heard shattered that hope. "Well now, I must thank Lucius for his success, nobody is even aware you are at risk and nobody will come to your aid. Throw down your wand Miss Bones, and I will make sure your niece gets to die fast. If you resist my men will have fun with her before killing her."

Amelia grit her teeth together wanting to tell the man to go to hell, but at the same time she worried about Susan. She did not want to let the poor girl go through those horrors. Before she could say anything however, Susan had raised her head and arm over the desk and taken aim, throwing a curse at Voldemort full of righteous fury. Amelia raised her own wand to cast as well, before pausing in shock.

Voldemort raised his wand to block Susan's spell but nothing happened, the cutting curse shattering the man's wand hand and blasting the wand itself to pieces. Amelia was staring in shock as Susan quickly followed with a fire spell that struck Voldemort with a fiery inferno, lightning the snake-faced monstrosity in fire and causing him to shriek in pain and horror. As the body collapsed a ghastly apparition with a skull-like face emerged from the corpse but before it could do anything it seemed like ghostly chains lashed around it and began to drag it down to a wavering image of a fiery pit dragging the ghostly presence to it, sealing behind ending the ghostly scream with it.

As their master fell, the death eaters began screaming and holding their arm, as the dead-man's switch Voldemort imprinted on his dark mark to prevent another betrayal took hold, his final death having activated. As Voldemort's soul left this world, the death eaters felt the withering curse eating their bodies, leaving recognisable but mutilated corpses bereft of all magic, and causing irrepairable harm to the British pureblood agenda. Sympathisers that had taken the mark while staying out of the active side now paid for their actions with their lives. Those who had gone unmarked were watching in horror as their dreams of glory besides the dark emperor of Wizarding World fell apart.

**#### #### #### ####**

"The Girl-Who-Won huh? Susan Bones is getting a lot of recognition these days." Harry smirked amusedly while reading through the Magical Times magazine, a chuckle leaving his lips as he shook his head. He never wanted his fame, and though he had acted behind the scenes to hurt Voldemort, he was fine with letting Susan have all the attention and adoration.

The article beneath detailing Dumbledore's banishment from the International Confederation of Wizards for malicious lies and manipulation over what was known as "false prophecy scandal" seemed to have resulted in the Wizengamot sacking him as well, and since Dumbledore had only held onto the proxy votes from Black and Potter, he had no reason to attend and no chance to influence the great game anymore. He was stripped of his titles other than the one of headmaster, and even there his presence was being questioned as the article about Harry's life before and during Hogwarts was raising plenty of questions that Dumbledore might have wanted to stay as a secret he'd take to his grave.

It was the first of September, and the school year was about to start. His godfather Sirius Black had been cleared of all charges, and was spending time at Hawaii to recover from the horrors of the first and second wizarding war, and the Azkaban. The picture he had sent of himself flaunting his wealth amidst a group of young women in swim-suits had made Harry chuckle that the stay in Azkaban hadn't changed Sirius one bit, something that Remus had confirmed as well.

Leaning back, he let out a sigh seeing his friend look up to him from the other seat. While Hermione might have listened to the Headmaster originally, Harry knew she stood by him through thick and thin, and welcomed her with a hug, something that had surprised the poor girl. Of course, earning a loud 'ahem' and a glare from her dad had been one of his least favorite experiences around the time, but thankfully Hermione's mother came to the rescue.

"In just an hour we'll be going through our orientation and settling in at Salem Academy. So I guess in two hours we'll see how big their library is?" Harry smirked jokingly, earning a playful shove from Hermione. "Learning is important, and though not all that is written is correct there is plenty to be learned from the right authors." She smiled to him as she put her bookmark in place and closed the book she had been reading.

"Though sometimes learning by experience beats any written words." She admitted while leaning her head against his shoulder, earning an exaggerated look of shock from Harry. "Who are you and what have you done to the real Hermione Granger?" This earned him an elbow to the side and a huff from her. "Prat!"

The two looked at one another and burst out into a laugh. Everything was finally going to be alright. The war was over before it could begin again, and Cedric's death had been avenged. Severus Snape had been questioned under truth serum and a trial date had been set, before the man was found screaming, trashing in his cell, and dying despite the best efforts of the healers on duty that night. While Harry's efforts had resulted in the man being stripped of his magic, it was Voldemort's dark mark and the remaining magic within it that triggered the horrifying dead man switch that cost the death eaters their lives.

**#### #### #### ####**

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office a broken man. His plans were all in ruins, the pureblood population had been slashed and with so many traditionalists exposed as death eater sympathisers, and many vaults formerly belonging to death eater families had been turned over to a mysterious person that had in turn opened them up for ministry to look for proof and incriminating documents. The resulting lists of bribes and records of deals had gutted what was left of the pureblood faction.

Only the light and the neutral families had weathered the storm, and with so many of the purebloods in the dark faction, the British wizarding world had no choice but to look abroad for suitable pureblood matches for marriages, or marry half-bloods and muggleborns. The British were largely viewed with pity by the rest of the international society, their contributions to the wizarding world had been significant in their past, but the recent events had tarnished many names.

Minister Fudge had tried to hold onto his office with tooth and nails but with the proof of his corruption he had been sacked and sent to Azkaban soon after. Not only with Potter, but the documents about bribes paid from the Malfoy accounts to the minister's pocket, and charities that Lucius had drained of all their funds to pay for his extravagant life-style, the old factions were coming apart at the seams.

Draco Malfoy was a pariah abandoned even by Grabbe and Goyle after he tried to mock Susan Bones only to find himself laid out by one punch by the girl-who-won. Without his wealth, without his father's influence, and without power over his classmates he quickly found himself ostracized, and standing alone.

Albus couldn't help but wonder if that would make the promising young man turn dark, something he had hoped to prevent by allowing Draco to receive lesser punishments or skip punishments entirely when he was fighting with Harry Potter along the years. Severus made it clear that Draco had to act a certain way or his father would hurt him when he came back from school over the holidays, and Dumbledore had not wanted to dispute that statement, or punish the boy for what he was being forced to do.

His old friends no longer listened to him, and even his Phoenix had left one day with a sorrowful cry before flaming out. The board was looking for an excuse to fire him, and investigations had been launched to uncover the truth about the many incidents at school. More and more power had been turned over to the Deputy Headmistress and Albus found himself ordered to stand aside on several matters because he was involved and was thus ineligible to attend to them until the investigation was over.

He had to consider the thought of retirement but without access to the Potter or Black fortunes it was looking bleak, when Sirius Black left they had began to have meetings at Hogwarts at first, but he had to cancel that when it became obvious they could be overheard there, and the Weasley's home was not an option after Molly caught Fletcher inspecting a few family trinkets. Really, Molly made it sound like Fletcher was going to steal from her.

And then when he invited them (reluctantly) to his family home, several things had gone missing and Mundungus had gone missing. Severus had likely been killed by Voldemort, the death eater vaults had been emptied with funds there being used to pay for orphanage for magical children, improved auror forces, and to compensate the victims of the death eater assaults, both magical and muggle.

The world was changing, and Albus Dumbledore no longer had any parts to play in it. The stage had been rearranged, and his central role as the wise mentor was being swept aside, his golden boy had cut his strings and walked away, and the prophecy that gave the plot line had been tossed aside.

Why oh Why didn't the people see that he only did it for the Greater Good?

**End Chapter**

A/N: Alright, this may be a bit sooner than I expected to deliver it originally, but not by much. I was working on the text on a whim and ended up writing half-way through, and decided to see if I could complete the tale today. I had to do a bit of editing but with this, the tale has come to its conclusion.

Its hardly a great tale, and its hardly that engaging, but it gives snapshots of a larger tale I had in mind but know I could not finish if I let it grow the way it had been growing.

While no pairings were in my mind, I see that Harry and Hermione would carry on together as friends out of Britain. I can't really see Ron leaving Britain behind, so he is not there to join Harry and Hermione on their future adventures, but I debated having Luna appear on there to join Harry and Hermione at Salem Academy at the end. I happen to like the mysterious Ravenclaw after all.

I had an idea of the prophecy being full of poppycock from the start, but as a self-fulfilling prophecy having to be somehow brought to an end anyway. Having the public believe it was Amelia and Susan Bones that brought an end to Voldemort merely felt like a compelling way to go, and helped lend idea that Wizarding World is prone to looking for the easiest solution they can see.

I tried to avoid overt bashing, but I have to wonder if I treated Dumbledore wholly unfairly with this writing still. I simply cannot see the good in the man after reading the 6th and 7th book. Even the earlier books gain a lot darker tone to them when looking at Dumbledore's actions through the lense gained by the revelations of the last parts of the tale.

I shall work on my other stories next, but this was a good diversion to help restore my creativity when I was feeling somewhat down and unable to create a full story for the moment. The snap-shots helped me get the idea on my mind out so I can focus on the other tales better once more.


End file.
